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THE 


Silver  Country 

OR 

THE  GREAT  SOUTHWEST 


A  REVIEW  OF  THE  MINERAL  AND  OTHER  WEALTH,  THE 
ATTRACTIONS  AND  MATERIAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE 
FORMER  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN,  COMPRISING 
MEXICO  AND  THE  MEXICAN  CESSIONS 
TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN 
1848  AND  1853 

0 

BY 

ALEX.  D.  ANDERSON 


NEW  YORK 

G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 

182  Fifth  Avenue 
1877 


Copyright,  1877, 

By  G.  P.  Putnam’s  Sons. 


PREFACE. 


No  work  on  New  Spain,  considered  as  a  whole, 
has  been  published  since  the  close  of  the  war  with 
Mexico,  when  half  of  the  territory  known  by  that 
name  was  acquired  by  the  United  States;  and,  on 
the  subject  of  its  resources,  no  work  since  Ward’s 
“Mexico,”  issued  in  1827.  That  valuable  book 
was  published  in  London,  is  little  known  in  this 
country,  and  is  to  be  found  in  very  few  of  our  pub¬ 
lic  libraries.  So,  for  all  practical  purposes,  Baron 
Humboldt’s  “Political  Essay  on  New  Spain,”  trans¬ 
lated  into  English,  and  published  in  London  in 
1822,  is  the  latest  authority.  Books  on  individual 
States  or  Territories  of  the  Southwest  are,  however, 
abundant.  But  a  general  or  more  comprehensive 
review  seems  to  be  needed  for  business  and  other 
purposes. 

The  Southwest,  in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  because  of  its  mineral  wealth  and  luxuries, 
excited  the  admiration  of  the  whole  world.  It  is 
once  more  coming  into  great  prominence,  and  is 
destined  to  play  a  leading  part  on  the  stage  of 


4 


PREFACE. 


public  affairs,  both  national  and  international.  The 
advance  of  internal  improvements  through  its  ter¬ 
ritory,  and  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  of  material 
development,  is  reuniting  New  Spain  in  an  indus¬ 
trial  and  commercial  sense,  and  makes  necessary  a 
grouping  together  of  local  facts  and  statistics  into 
a  general  work.  Such  a  combination  of  statistics 
gives  wonderful  results,  for  Mexico,  prolific  in  trea¬ 
sures,  golden  California,  and  silver  Nevada  come 
within  its  limits. 

New  Spain  seems  to  be  the  natural  and  most 
convenient  territorial  basis  for  a  book,  for  the  rea¬ 
son  that  it  was,  for  three  hundred  years,  from  1521, 
when  Cortez  and  his  soldiers  accomplished  the  con¬ 
quest,  until  1821,  when  Mexico  declared  her  inde¬ 
pendence,  ruled  by  the  Spaniards,  who  were  very 
prolific  writers,  and  who  in  their  many  histories 
observed  the  same  territorial  limits.  Again,  the 
country,  as  a  whole,  is  very  uniform  in  its  charac¬ 
teristics,  such  as  general  prevalence  of  silver,  high 
table-lands,  ancient  history  prior  to  the  Spanish 
rule,  and  in  many  other  respects. 

.  This  is  a  book  of  facts,  not  theories.  It  de¬ 
scribes  the  land  of  silver,  and  shows  that  the  South¬ 
west  is  producing,  each  year,  two-thirds  of  the 
silver  of  the  whole  world  ;  but  it  does  not  attempt 
to  discuss  the  merits  of  a  double  standard  of  srold 
and  silver.  It  treats  of  railways  generally,  and 


PREFACE. 


5 


gives  facts  and  figures  showing  how  these  great 
civilizers  have  neglected  the  Southwest  ;  but  it 
does  not  advocate  any  individual  enterprise.  It 
freely  expresses  its  admiration  for  undeveloped 
Mexico  ;  but  it  does  not  join  in  any  cry  for  another 
conquest,  except  so  far  as  the  future  conquest  may 
consist  of  the  advance  of  railways,  a  thrifty  civil¬ 
ization  in  place  of  the  inertia  of  the  present  lethar¬ 
gic  races,  of  commerce  and  the  arts  of  peace,  all  of 
which  will  stimulate  the  material  prosperity  of  both 
Republics.  It  does  not  profess  to  be  a  full  review 
of  the  varied  riches  and  attractions  of  the  South¬ 
west,  as  such  a  review  would  require  several  large 
volumes.  But  it  does  claim  to  be  accurate,  and 
the  authorities  are  freely  cited,  in  legal  brief  style, 
to  confirm  the  accuracy  of  all  statements  and  sta¬ 
tistics.  Nature  was  so  profusely  liberal  in  the  en¬ 
dowment  of  this  portion  of  the  earth’s  surface, 
that  facts  about  the  riches  of  the  Southwest  fur¬ 
nish  the  writer  with  abundant  material,  and  it  is 
unnecessary  to  draw  on  the  imagination  to  make 
out  a  case. 

Much  time  and  labor  have  been  spent  in  the 
search  for  and  examination  of  the  various  books 
composing  the  list  in  the  chapter  on  Authorities; 
and  it  is  believed  that  chapter  will  be  serviceable 
to  the  reader,  for  the  reason  that  of  the  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty-nine  volumes  on  Old  Mexico, 


6 


PREFACE. 


about  half,  and  that  the  best  half/were  published 
in  London,  and  have  a  very  limited  circulation  in 
this  country. 

The  author  hopes  that  the  facts  and  figures  in 
the  following  pages  will  act  as  an  appetizer  for 
more,  and  will  attract  the  attention  of  the  reader 
to  the  rich  feast  of  information  which  the  Spanish, 
English,  and  American  discoverers,  travelers,  and 
historians  have  prepared  in  their  many  volumes. 

The  elevations  of  the  southern  or  Mexican  half 
of  New  Spain,  as  given  in  the  accompanying  map, 
are  from  an  hypsometric  map  in  Geiger’s  “  Peep  at 
Mexico,”  published  at  London  in  1874.  For  the 
illustration  of  the  elevations  of  the  northern  half 
of  New  Spain  (now  a  portion  of  the  United  States) 
the  author  is  indebted  to  W.  H.  Holmes,  Esq.,  of 
Prof.  Hayden’s  Survey,  who  prepared  the  map,  to 
correspond  to  that  of  Mexico,  from  data  contained 
in  the  detailed  and  elaborate  hypsometric  map  is¬ 
sued  by  that  Survey  during  the  present  year. 

The  railway  lines  are  from  recent  official  and 
other  reliable  sources. 

Alex.  D.  Anderson. 


Washington,  D.  C.,  October ,  1877. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

DEFINITION  AND  DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES. 

Definition,  n  —  Boundaries,  15 — Area  and  comparisons,  19  — 
Table-lands  and  elevations,  21  — —  Its  remarkable  situation,  25. 

CHAPTER  II. 

ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 

The  treasures  of  the  Toltecs  and  Aztecs .  29 

Working  of  the  mines  by  the  Toltecs  and  Aztecs .  36 

Product  of  silver  and  gold  of  Mexico,  1521-1804 .  39 

Product  of  silver  and  gold  of  Mexico,  1804-1848 .  41 

Product  of  silver  and  gold  of  Mexico,  1848-1876 .  42 

Product  of  silver  and  gold  of  California,  1848-1876 .  43 

Product  of  silver  and  gold  of  Nevada,  1848-1S76 .  45 

Product  of  silver  and  gold  of  Arizona,  1848-1876 .  46 

Product  of  silver  and  gold  of  New  Mexico,  1S4S-1S76 . 47 

Product  of  silver  and  gold  of  Utah,  1848-1876 .  48 

Product  of  silver  and  gold  of  Southern  and  Western  Colorado, 

1848-1876 .  49 

Total  product  of  silver  and  gold  of  the  Southwest  or  New  Spain, 
1521-1876 


50 


8 


CONTENTS. 


Progress  of  mining  in  the  Southwest .  51 

Products  of  silver  and  gold  of  the  Southwest  compared  with 

each  other .  54 

Products  of  silver  and  gold  of  the  Southwest  compared  with  that 

of  the  world .  58 

Product  of  silver  and  gold  of  Mexico  since  1848  compared  with 

that  of  the  territory  ceded  by  her  to  the  United  States .  59 

Product  of  silver  and  gold  since  1848  of  the  territory  acquired 
from  Mexico  compared  with  that  of  the  rest  of  the  United 

States .  59 

Silver  product  of  the  Southwest,  or  New  Spain,  compared  with  that 

of  the  whole  world .  60 

Mineral  wealth  of  the  Border  States .  64 

Present  condition  and  wants  of  the  mining  industry .  71 

Future  products  of  silver  and  gold  in  the  Southwest .  76 

CHAPTER  III. 

OTHER  WEALTH  THAN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 

Preliminary  remarks .  79 

Wheat .  81 

Cotton .  87 

Indian  corn .  91 

Barley .  93 

Cattle .  93 

Sheep  and  wool .  95 

Coffee .  96 

Sugar .  98 

Cochineal .  101 


CONTENTS. 


9 


Silk .  102 

Quicksilver .  102 

Fruits  and  wines .  103 

Resume .  106 

CHAPTER  IV. 

LUXURIES  AND  ATTRACTIONS. 

Facilities  for  the  acquirement  of  wealth .  108 

Topography  and  climate .  HO 

Scenery  and  wonders .  113 

Antiquities .  118 

Flowers .  123 

Fruits  and  wines .  125 

Luxurious  living .  126 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  AUTHORITIES. 

Preliminary .  130 

Aztec  Books .  133 

Spanish  histories .  135 

Works  in  English .  136 

Authorities  on  Mexico .  137 

Authorities  on  California .  149 

Authorities  on  Texas .  157 

Authorities  on  New  Mexico .  162 

Authorities  on  Arizona.  . .  164 

Authorities  on  South  and  West  Colorado .  165 


IO 


CONTENTS. 


Authorities  on  Nevada .  1 66 

Authorities  on  Utah .  167 

Authorities  too  general  for  the  above  territorial  classification. . . .  168 
Resume .  183 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  FOREIGN  COMMERCE  OF  MEXICO. 

Its  natural  course .  188 

Mexico’s  exchanges  with  all  countries .  190 

Mexico’s  exchanges  with  the  United  States .  196 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  ADVANCE  OF  RAILWAYS. 

The  importance  of  national  highways .  201 

The  advance  of  railways  in  the  United  States,  and  the  South¬ 
west .  205 

The  advance  of  railways  in  the  Southwest  compared  with  that  in 

other  countries  and  the  world .  208 

Facilities  for  constructing  railways  in  the  Southwest .  212 

Reasons  why  railways  have  not  crossed  the  Southwest .  217 

A  look  ahead .  218 

Conclusion .  219 


^omefilo  ^ 

OEIHESOUTHWESr.  OR  NEW  SPAIH 

WITH 

ZINESO^^^1^ 

IN  OPERATION  1877 

ALSO 

The  Ocean  Warm  Streams. 


15 

Sea 


M'Pfii' 


3  Over  6000  Ft  above  Sea 
3000  to  6000  /  ’/  above 
1000  ,,  .. 


36 


Bonneleur  Lu/e  of  New  Spain. 

2ii 


1 


Hid  or  1000  Ft  above  Seer 


24 


20 


lf> 


and  I-nfraved  for  G  P.  Putnams'  Sons. 


X he  Silver  Country  ; 

OR, 

THE  GREAT  SOUTHWEST. 


CHAPTER  I. 

DEFINITION  AND  DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES. 


DEFINITION. 

SOON  after  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  in  1521,  by 
Cortez  and  his  soldiers,  the  restless  ambition  of  the 
Spanish  stimulated  them  to  extend  the  possessions 
of  their  king  farther  north  into  the  present  terri¬ 
tory  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  As  early  as 
1530,  say  the  historians,  Nuno  de  Guzman,  one  of 
the  leading  officials  of  Mexico,  under  the  crown, 
heard  from  ia  native  Indian  of  cities  in  the  north. 
He  organized  a  company  of  soldiers,  and  set  out 
for  their  conquest ;  but  the  expedition  became  dis¬ 
banded  on  the  way.*  A  few  years  later,  about 


*  “  The  Conquest  of  New  Mexico,”  by  W.  W.  H.  Davis,  p.  no. 


12 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


1536,  one  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  with  a  few  comrades,  es¬ 
caping  from  an  unfortunate  Spanish  expedition  to 
Florida,  crossed  overland  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
and  passed  through  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  on 
the  way  to  Old  Mexico  to  join  their  countrymen. 
They  brought  with  them  further  reports  of  large 
cities  in  the  north. 

Marco  de  Niza,  a  Franciscan  friar,  was,  in  1539, 
sent  in  command  of  an  expedition  to  investigate 
the  reports.*  He  went  far  enough  to  see,  but  was 
too  cautious  to  enter  the  cities.  He  did  not  hesi¬ 
tate,  on  his  return,  to  describe  them  in  the  most 
glowing  terms,  and  immediately  the  Spanish  love 
of  conquest  and  glor/ knew  no  restraint.  A  well- 
equipped  military  expedition,  under  the  lead  of 
Don  Francisco  Vasquez  Coronado,  started  in  the 
early  part  of  1 541,  to  subject  the  “  Seven  Cities  of 
Cibola,”  as  they  were  called,  to  the  Spanish  rule. 
They  found  the  cities,  and  captured  all  seven,  which 
together  constituted  one  province.  The  historian 
of  the  “Conquest  of  New  Mexico”  says:  “The 
province  of  Cibola  contained  seven  villages,  situated 
in  a  warm  valley  between  high  mountains ;  one  of 
them  took  the  name  of  the  province,  and  another, 
called  Muzaque,  is  said  to  have  been  the  most  popu¬ 
lous.  The  houses  were  ordinarily  four  and  five  sto¬ 
ries  high,  and  some  few  in  Muzaque  were  six  and 


*  Idem,  p.  1 14. 


DEFINITION  AND  DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES. 


13 


seven.”  *  These  cities  were  near  the  present  city 
of  Zuni,  and  near  the  boundary  line  between  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona,  about  halfway  between  their 
northern  and  southern  limits.  After  this  victory 
Coronado  and  his  soldiers,  in  their  explorations  of 
the  northern  country,  marched  through  several 
other  provinces,  which  together  contained  seventy 
villages  or  cities.  The  line  of  their  march  extended 
across  nearly  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  Ari¬ 
zona  and  New  Mexico,  through  Southern  Colorado, 
and  up  through  Kansas  to  its  northern  boundary, 
and  back  through  what  is  now  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory.f  Wherever  they  went  they  were  victorious.^: 
But  they  did  not  find  such  magnificent  palaces  and 
treasures  as  Cortez  had  found  in  Montezuma’s  Mex¬ 
ico.  The  expedition  of  Coronado  was  not  at  once 
followed  up  by  Spanish  settlements  ;  but  as  early  as 
1591,  Don  Juan  de  Onate,  with  a  large  number  of 
followers,  went  north  to  remain  and  introduce 
Spanish  civilization  §  in  what  is  now  the  Territory 
of  New  Mexico.  Soon  after  others  established  set¬ 
tlements  and  missions  in  California,  Arizona,  and 
Texas. 

This  broad  and  then  undefined  country  in  the 

north,  together  with  the  present  Republic  of  Mex- 

# 

*  Idem,  p.  167.  f  Idem,  p.  221.  \  Idem,  p.  267. 

§  See  Simpson’s  account  of  the  march,  in  Smithsonian  Report  for 
1867. 


14 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


ico,  was,  as  early  as  1522,  known  as  New  Spain,  and 
was  ruled  by  Spanish  viceroys  until  Mexico  threw 
off  the  Spanish  yoke  in  1821.  It  is  the  same  country 
and  the  only  portion  of  North  America  which  was 
occupied  by  the  civilized  nations  of  the  native  races 
for  centuries  prior  to  the  conquest.  It  is  the  portion 
of  America  oldest  in  European  civilization.  It  is 
the  same  country  that  the  Spanish  historians  wrote 
about  for  three  centuries.  It  is  the  land  that  was 
called  Mexico  until  the  revolution  in  Texas  caused 
the  first  loss  of  territory ;  but  as  Mexico  continued 
to  claim  Texas  until  1848,  we  will  call  it  Mexico 
until  that  date.  It  is,  then,  a  combination  of  Mex¬ 
ico  and  the  territory  she  relinquished  to  the  United 
States  in  1848  by  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo, 
and  by  the  treaty  of  1853,  commonly  known  as  the 
Gadsden  Purchase.  It  is,  in  other  words,  a  com¬ 
bination  of  old  Mexico,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Cali¬ 
fornia,  Texas,  Nevada,  Utah,  and  Southern  and 
Western  Colorado.  Strictly  defined  it  is  the  south¬ 
west  portion  of  North  America.  It  is,  finally,  a 
country  very  uniform  in  its  resources,  character¬ 
istics,  and  attractions.  Later  events  have  helped 
to  define  the  limits  of  New  Spain,  and  as,  for  the 
purposes  of  this  book,  the  Southwest  and  New 
Spain  are  used  as  interconvertible  terms,  we  will 
briefly  locate  the  lines. 


DEFINITION  AND  DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES.  ^ 

BOUNDARIES. 

Baron  Humboldt,  in  his  exhaustive  work  on 
New  Spain  (the  time  of  his  explorations  being 
about  the  beginning  of  the  present  century),  said  : 
“  The  kingdom  of  New  Spain,  the  most  northern 
part  of  all  Spanish  America,  extends  from  the 
1 6th  to  the  38th  degree  of  latitude.”  Farther  on, 
in  the  same  volume,  he  says:- “We  are  uncertain 
as  to  the  limits  which  ought  to  be  assigned  to 
New  Spain  to  the  north  and  east.”*  In  1803  the 
United  States,  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  purchased 
the  Province  of  Louisiana  from  France,  and  the 
southern  and  western  boundaries  of  that  purchase 
would,  if  they  had  been  defined,  determine  the 
dividing  line  between  the  United  States  and  New 
Spain.  But  the  treaty  was  silent  on  that  point, 
and  not  until  the  treaty  between  the  United  States 
and  Spain,  of  February  22,  1819,  was  the  bounda¬ 
ry  finally  adjusted.  This  treaty  was  the  result  of 
lengthy  correspondence  and  negotiations  between 
John  Quincy  Adams,  then  Secretary  of  State,  and 
Don  Louis  de  Onis,  the  Spanish  minister.  The 
claims  of  their  respective  Governments  were  based 
upon  the  disputed  limits  of  the  early  French  and 
Spanish  discoveries  and  settlements  in  the  South¬ 
west.  The  United  States  having  previously  pur- 


*  “Political  Essay  on  New  Spain,”  i.  16  and  274. 


1 6 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


chased  all  of  the  possessions  and  claims  of  France 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  took  the  place  of 
France  in  this  correspondence  about  the  dividing 
line.  Mr.  Adams  claimed  that  La  Salle  and  other 
French  explorers,  who  entered  the  Mississippi 
valley  from  Canada,  on  the  north,  had,  after  ex¬ 
ploring  nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  Mississippi, 
extended  the  possessions  of  France  far  into  the 
southwest,  or  to  a  point  within  the  present  State  of 
Texas.  The  Spanish  minister  opposed  this  claim, 
and  maintained  that  the  early  voyages  and  dis¬ 
coveries  of  De  Soto,  Narvaez,  and  others,  and  the 
fact  that  the  province  of  Texas  was  organized  as 
early  as  1690  by  the  viceroyalty  of  New  Spain, 
gave  Spain  title  to  territory  in  the  southwest 
claimed  by  the  United  States  as  the  successor  of 
France.  The  treaty  was  the  result  of  these  histo¬ 
rical  researches  and  negotiations.*  The  language 
of  the  treaty  on  the  limi.ts  is  as  follows :  “  The 
boundary  line  between  the  two  countries,  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  shall  begin  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Sabine,  in  the  sea,  con¬ 
tinuing  north  along  the  western  bank  of  that  river 
to  the  32d  degree  of  latitude ;  thence  by  a  line  due 
north,  to  the  degree  of  latitude  where  it  strikes  the 
Rio  Roxo  of  Nachitoches,  or  Red  River;  then  fol- 

*  See  vol.  iv.  “  American  State  Papers  on  Foreign  Affairs,”  pp.  468 
to  478. 


DEFINITION  AND  DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES. 


17 

lowing  the  course  of  the  Rio  Roxo  westward  to  the 
degree  of  longitude  100  west  from  London,  and  23 
from  Washington  ;  then  crossing  the  said  Red  River 
and  running  thence,  by  a  line  due  north,  to  the 
river  Arkansas  ;  thence  following  the  course  of  the 
southern  bank  of  the  Arkansas  to  its  source,  in  lati¬ 
tude  42  north  ;  and  thence  by  that  parallel  of  lati¬ 
tude  to  the  South  Sea.  The  whole  being  as  laid 
down  in  Melish’s  map  of  the  United  States  pub¬ 
lished  at  Philadelphia,  improved  to  the  first  of  Jan¬ 
uary,  1818.  But  if  the  source  of  the  Arkansas 
River  shall  be  found  to  fall  north  or  south  of  lati¬ 
tude  42,  then  the  line  shall  run  from  the  said 
source,  due  south  or  north,  as  the  case  may  be,  till 
it  meets  the  said  parallel  of  latitude  42,  and  thence 
along  the  said  parallel  to  the  South  Sea.”  * 

A  subsequent  section  of  the  treaty  provided  for 
the  appointment  of  commissioners  and  surveyors 
to  run  the  line,  but  for  some  reason  they  were  not 
appointed.  After  Mexico  became  independent,  a 
treaty  between  that  Republic  and  the  United 
States,  in  1828,  made  a  similar  provision  for  com¬ 
missioners  and  surveyors  to  run  the  line,  but  again 
was  the  duty  under  the  treaty  neglected. f  The 
line  is  not  yet  definitely  located,  except  by  the 
language  of  the  treaty  of  1819,  without  a  survey. 


*  8  United  States  Statutes,  pp.  255-6. 
f  Idem,  p.  372. 


i8 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


That  language  is  sufficiently  definite,  except  in 
locating  the  line  from  the  source  of  the  Arkansas 
River  to  the  420  of  north  latitude,  and  here  there 
may  be  a  conflict  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  true 
source  of  the  river.  A  recent  drainage  map  of 
Colorado,  by  the  surveying  expedition  under  Prof. 
Hayden,  shows  one  of  the  sources  to  be  at  Home- 
stake  Peak,  about  latitude  390  20'  north,  and  longi¬ 
tude  1060  25'  west,  on  the  dividing  ridge  between 
the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.  A  boun¬ 
dary  commission  appointed  to  carry  out  the  pro¬ 
visions  of  the  treaty  might  select  some  other  one 
of  the  small  mountain  streams  as  the  true  source 
of  the  Arkansas  River,  and  thereby  locate  the  line 
several  miles  east  or  west  of  the  one  running  north 
from  Homestake  Peak.  As  the  treaty  of  1848  be¬ 
tween  the  United  States  and  Mexico  changed  the 
boundary  line  between  the  two  Republics  and 
placed  it  far  in  the  southwest,  the  line  through 
Colorado  ceased  to  be  of  international  importance, 
and  for  that  reason  was  the  survey  neglected  after 
the  Mexican  war.  But  as  a  matter  of  history,  it  is 
to  be  regretted  that  it  was  not  surveyed.  Possibly 
the  investigation  by  the  United  States  courts  of 
the  Spanish  or  Mexican  land  claims  in  Southern 
Colorado  may  again  make  this  historical  line  of 
practical  importance. 

New  Spain,  or  the  Southwest,  may  then  be  said 


DEFINITION  AND  DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES. 


T9 


to  embrace  all  of  the  present  Republic  of  Mexico 
and  that  portion  of  the  United  States  south  and 
west  of  a  line  from  the  Gulf  up  the  course  of  the 
Sabine  River  to  latitude  320  ;  thence  by  a  line  due 
north  to  the  Red  River  ;  thence  along  the  course 
of  that  river  to  longitude  100  west  from  London  ; 
thence  due  north  to  the  Arkansas  River ;  thence 
along  that  river  to  its  source  ;  thence  due  north  to 
latitude  420  ;  thence  along  that  parallel  of  latitude 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

AREA  AND  COMPARISONS. 

To  the  New-England  reader,  who  is  accustomed 
to  smaller  divisions  of  territory,  it  may  seem  an 
exaggeration  to  assert  that  New  Spain  will  contain 
New  England,  territorially,  twenty-five  times.  Yet 
such  is  the  fact.  The  single  State  of  Texas  will 
contain  all  New  England  four  times.  It  will  con¬ 
tain  Rhode  Island  two  hundred  and  ten  times, 
yet  the  two  States  are  equally  represented  in  the 
United  States  Senate.  The  areas,  in  square  miles, 
of  the  six  States  and  Territories  which  come  wholly 
within  the  limits  of  the  acquisitions  from  Mexico, 
and  consequently  wholly  within  that  portion  of 
New  Spain  now  possessed  by  the  United  States, 
are,  contrasted  with  the  areas  of  the  six  New-Eng¬ 
land  States,  as  follows : 


20 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Texas .  274,356 

California .  188,981 

New  Mexico...  121,200 

Nevada .  104,125 

Arizona .  113,916 

Utah .  84,476 

Total .  887,054 


Maine .  35,000 

Vermont .  10,212 

New  Hampshire.  9,280 
Massachusetts...  7,800 

Connecticut .  4,75° 

Rhode  Island ..  .  1,306 

Total .  68,348 


Adding  80,397  for  the  area  of  the  fractional  parts 
of  other  States  within  the  limits  of  the  acquisi¬ 
tions,  we  have  a  total  of  967,451  square  miles  ac¬ 
quired  from  Mexico,  as  against  761,640  square 
miles  which  Mexico  has  left.  These  figures  com¬ 
bined  show  the  area  of  New  Spain  to  be  1,729,091 
square  miles,  or  a  territory  as  large  as  the  combined 
areas  of  England,  Wales,  Scotland,  Ireland,  France, 
Spain,  Italy,  and,  to  save  the  trouble  of  naming 
further  European  nations,  we  will  add  England 
twenty-one  times  more,  and  yet  have  territory 
enough  left  for  several  extensive  cattle  ranches. 
To  contrast  the  new  with  the  old,  New  Spain  will 
contain  the  kingdom  of  Spain  over  eight  times. 
How  many  times  richer  it  is  in  products  of  silver 
and  gold,  and  how  much  glory  the  crown  of  Spain 
gained,  but  to  lose  in  America,  will  appear  in  sub¬ 
sequent  pages. 


DEFINITION  AND  DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES. 


21 


TABLE-LANDS  AND  ELEVATIONS. 

Referring  again  to  Baron  Humboldt,  whose 
works  are  the  standard  authority  on  New  Spain,  he 
says  of  the  country  constituting  the  great  interior 
of  the  Southwest  between  Santa  Fe  in  New  Mex¬ 
ico,  and  the  city  of  Mexico:  “We  are  led  to  ask 
whether  in  the  whole  world  there  exists  any  similar 
formation  of  equal  extent  and  height  (between  five 
thousand  and  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea).  Four-wheeled  waggons  can  travel  from 
Mexico  to  Santa  Fe.  The  plateau  whose  leveling 
I  have  here  described  is  formed  solely  by  the  broad 
undulating  flattened  crest  of  the  chain  of  the  Mex¬ 
ican  Andes;  it  is  not  the  swelling  of  a  valley  be¬ 
tween  two  mountain  chains.”*  Another  good 
authority  tells  how  a  wheeled  carriage  could  start 
on  a  table-land  five  thousand  five  hundred  feet  high 
in  the  State  of  Oajaca,  a  little  above  the  Isthmus 
of  Tehuantepec,  and  as  far  south  as  latitude  i6°  20', 
and  roll  on  without  difficulty  to  Santa  Fd  in  the 
north,  a  distance  of  above  one  thousand  four  hun¬ 
dred  miles.f 

It  is  safe  to  assert  that  the  same  carriage  might 
find  a  high  table-land,  good  roads,  and  an  easy  trip 


*  “Views  of  Nature,”  p.  209. 

f  Paper  on  Mexico  in  Lippincott’s  Gazetteer  of  the  World. 


22 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


northward  into  Southern  Colorado,  near  the  upper 
boundary  of  New  Spain. 

A  French  writer  on  Mexico,  after  describing 
some  high  mountain-peaks  near  latitude  190  north, 
says:  “With  the  exception  of  the  narrow  band 
marked  by  these  majestic  peaks,  Mexico  presents  a 
table-land  stretching  out  far  toward  the  north,  with 
undulations  that  have  no  notable  change  of  alti¬ 
tude  save  at  long  distances.  Immense  plains  look¬ 
ing  like  the  dry  basins  of  ancient  lakes  succeed  one 
another,  separated  by  hills  that  barely  rise  six  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  to  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  gen¬ 
eral  level.”  * 

Another  authority  describing  the  Mexican  Andes 
says  :  “  The  backs  of  the  mountains  form  very  elevat¬ 
ed  plateaus,  or  basins  sufficiently  uniform  in  height 
to  be  regarded  as  one  continuous  table-land.”  f 

Another  writer,  after  explaining  how  the  great 
chain  of  mountains  which  enters  Mexico  in  the 
south  soon  divides  into  two  parts  and  extend  north¬ 
wardly  on  opposite  sides  of  Mexico  along  the  coast 
lines,  says  :  “  The  whole  of  the  vast  tract  of  coun¬ 
try  between  these  two  great  arms,  comprising  about 
three-fifths  of  the  entire  surface  of  the  empire,  con¬ 
sists  of  a  central  table-land,  called  the  plateau  of 
Anahuac,  elevated  from  six  thousand  to  upward  of 


*  “  Mexico,  Ancient  and  Modern,”  by  Chevalier,  2d  vol.,  p.  98. 
f  Paper  on  Mexico  in  American  Cyclopaedia. 


DEFINITION  AND  DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES. 


23 


eight  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
Hence,  though  a  large  portion  of  this  plateau  be 
within  the  limits  of  the  torrid  zone,  it  enjoys  a  tem¬ 
perate  climate,  inclining,  indeed,  more  to  cold  than 
to  excess  of  heat.”  * 

The  central  portion  of  this  remarkable  table¬ 
land  of  Mexico  is  more  elevated  than  the  sides,  but 
even  they  are  sufficiently  elevated  to  make  the 
descent  generally  abrupt  and  difficult  on  the  east 
and  west.  The  same  formation  continues,  as  we 
go  north,  into  that  portion  of  New  Spain  lying 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  but  near  the 
boundary  between  the  two  republics  the  country 
is  less  elevated,  and  slopes  more  gradually  on  the 
east  and  west  sides. 

The  whole  territory  of  New  Mexico  is  a  continu¬ 
ation  of  the  table-land  extending  northwardly  from 
old  Mexico,  and  speaking  generally,  may  be  called 
a  gradually  inclined  plain.  Even  the  Rio  Grande 
River  flowing  through  the  middle  of  New  Mexico 
is  an  elevated  or  mountain  river,  being  at  El  Paso, 
on  the  southern  line  of  the  territory,  3,800  feet 
above  the  sea,  at  the  northern  line  of  the  territory 
about  7,000  feet  above  the  sea.f  Gannett  accounts 
for  the  121,200  square  miles  of  territory  in  New 
Mexico  as  follows:  ^ 

*  Paper  on  Mexico  in  McCulloch’s  Geographical  Dictionary. 

f  “  List  of  Elevations,”  by  Henry  Gannett,  Washington,  1877,  p.  149. 

\  Idem,  pp.  160-162. 


24 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Elevations  in  Feet.  Square  Miles. 

3,000  and  4,000  2,000 

4,000  “  5,000  52,000 

5,000  “  6,000  28,000 

6,000  “  7,000  22,000 

7,000  “  8,000  . %  6,500 

8,000  “  9,000  5,000 

9,000  “  10,000  3,200 

10,000  “  11,000  1,800 

11,000  “  12,000  700 


No  wonder  the  people  of  New  Mexico  love  their 
mountain  home,  and  prefer  its  pure  and  invigorating 
air  to  the  depressing  fogs  and  heavy  atmosphere  of 
lower  elevations. 

m 

The  mean  height  of  each  of  the  six  divisions, 
or  States,  of  New  Spain,  lying  wholly  within  the 
United  States,  is  as  follows:  * 

7  i 


Interior  States^ 


.New  Mexico 

Arizona . 

Nevada . 

Utah . 

Western  border  State — California, 
Eastern  border  State — Texas.  . . . 


Mean  height  of  the  six  States 


Ft.  above  Seat 

.  .  .  .  5 ,660 
.  ...  4,300 
....  5 ,600 
....  6,100 
. . . .  2,800 
....  1,850 
....  4,385 


From  these  Tables  of  Elevations  it  appears  that 


*  Gannett,  pp.  160-162. 


DEFINITION  AND  DE SCRIP  TIVE  NO  TES.  2  5 

half  of  the  Southwest,  lying  within  the  United 
States,  is,  like  old  Mexico,  highly  elevated,  and  the 
most  so  in  the  interior.  Contrasted  with  the  United 
States,  the  great  interior  of  New  Spain  is  convex, 
while  the  great  interior,  or  Mississipi  Valley  of 
the  United  States  is  concave.  In  other  words, 
one  is  chiefly  table-lands,  and  the  other  chiefly 
valley, 

ITS  REMARKABLE  SITUATION. 

No  country  in  the  whole  world  is  so  favored  in 
its  situation  between  oceans  and  nations,  and  on 
the  highway  of  the  world’s  commerce,  as  is  New 
Spain.  It  has  a  coast-line  of  7,513  miles. 

It  lies  between  the  warm  streams  of  the  North 
Atlantic  and  North  Pacific.  That  portion  of  the 
equatorial  current  which  enters  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
south  of  the  West  Indies,  encircles  the  larger  por¬ 
tion  of  the  gulf,  and  flows  out  north  of  the  West 
Indies  to  help  form  the  gulf  or  warm  stream  of  the 
North  Atlantic,  has  a  positive  effect  upon  the  whole 

eastern  coast  of  New  Spain.  One  part  of  the  Kuro- 
* 

siwo,  or  warm  stream  of  the  North  Pacific,  flows 
down  along  the  western  coast  of  New  Spain,  bring¬ 
ing  its  characteristic  climatic  influences  and  bless¬ 
ings.* 


*  “  Gateways  to  the  Pole,”  by  Silas  Bent,  St.  Louis,  1872. 


2  6 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


The  oceans  nearly  meet  at  Tehuantepec,  which 
constitutes  the  southern  extremity  of  New  Spain; 
and  should  the  long  talked-of  canal  be  constructed, 
opening  a  new  and  short  route  between  the  ports 
of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  there  would  be  a  re¬ 
markable  saving  of  distance  in  the  voyage  from 
New  York  to  San  Francisco,  viz. : 

Statute  Miles. 


New  York  to  San  Francisco  (via  Cape 

Horn) .  16,360 

New  York  to  San  Francisco  (via  Tehuan¬ 
tepec) .  4>74x 

Saving  of  distance  (via  Tehuantepec). .  11,619 


Vessels  sailing  from  New  York  to  China  and 
Japan  usually  go  by  way  of  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
instead  of  Cape  Horn.  Could  they  cross  New  Spain 
by  means  of  a  ship  canal  the  saving  of  distance 
would  be  very  great,  as  the  following  table  of  dis¬ 
tances  shows  : 


Via  Cape  of 
Good  Hope. 

Via  Te¬ 
huantepec. 

Saving  of 

Distance. 

New  York  to  Japan  (Yokohama) . 
“  China  (Hong  Kong) 

(Naut.  Miles.) 

15,150 

14,015 

(Naut.  Miles.) 

9435 

10,755 

(Naut.  Miles.) 

5,715 

3,260 

New  Spain,  in  competition  with  England  for  the 


DEFINI TION  A  ND  DE  SCRIP  TI VE  NO  TES.  2  7 

trade  ©f  China  and  Japan,  has  a  decided  advantage 
in  situation,  notwithstanding  England  has  short¬ 
ened  her  route  by  use  of  the  Suez  Canal.  Tak¬ 
ing,  for  the  comparison,  San  Diego,  which  is  the 
central  one  of  the  great  harbors  of  New  Spain,  and 
Liverpool,  which  is  the  leading  harbor  of  Eng¬ 
land,  and  giving  England  the  benefit  of  the  shortest 
possible  route,  which  is  via  Suez,  the  result  is  as 


follows  :  * 

Naut.  Miles. 

Liverpool  to  China  (Hong  Kong) .  9,568 

San  Diego  “  “  .  6,861 

Difference  in  favor  of  San  Diego .  2,707 

Liverpool  to  Japan  (Yokohama) .  11,403 

San  Diego  “  “  .  5,139 

Difference  in  favor  of  San  Diego .  6,264 


But  Benton’s  historical  exclamation,  “  There  is 
the  East  !  there  is  India  !  ”  in  his  great  speech  in 
favor  of  a  Pacific  Railway  at  the  National  Conven¬ 
tion  in  St.  Louis,  in  1849,  has  lost  some  of  its  com¬ 
mercial  significance  since  the  Southwest  has  de¬ 
veloped  such  marvelous  riches.  We  have  a  more 


*  These  tables  of  distances  are  compiled  from  statistics  prepared 
at  the  Hydrographic  Bureau,  and  from  a  publication  by  H.  Stuckle 
on  “Inter-oceanic  Canals  and  Distances.” 


28 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


magnificent  country  than  India  at  our  own  door, 
and  instead  of  dwelling  upon  the  international  ad¬ 
vantages  of  New  Spain,  we  will  consider  its  in¬ 
trinsic  wealth. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD . 


29 


CHAPTER  II. 

ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


THE  TREASURES  OF  THE  TOLTECS  AND  AZTECS. 

In  its  grand  westward  course  the  star  of  empire 
has  reached  the  Pacific  coast,  and  for  some  time 
has  been  glowing  with  unusual  splendor  amidst  the 
wonderful  riches  of  California  and  Nevada.  Its 
circle  was  complete  when  it  reached  the  ocean,  op¬ 
posite  Asia,  the  starting-point  of  civilization  and 
commerce.  It  must  now  stand  still,  again  encircle 
the  globe,  or  deflect  its  course  to  a  position  nearer 
the  center  of  the  great  Southwest.  What  attrac¬ 
tive  forces  does  New  Spain  possess?  And  do  we 
find  abundant  allurements  in  silver  and  gold?  The 
record  of  the  mines  is  very  incomplete  until  the 
thirst  for  gold  had  incited  Cortez’s  army  to  almost 
superhuman  achievements  in  subjecting  the  Aztecs 
to  the  crown  of  Spain. 

But  here  and  there  we  find  detached  allusions  to 
the  treasures  of  the  native  races,  their  working  of 
the  mines,  and  their  unrivaled  skill  as  goldsmiths. 


30 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Indeed  so  great  was  their  skill  as  artists  in  the 
working  of  precious  metals,  that  the  proud  and 
usually  illiberal  conquerors  were  compelled  to  ad¬ 
mit  the  Aztec  superiority  in  this  respect.*  How 
great  were  their  products  of  silver  and  gold  from 
the  seventh  century,  the  beginning  of  their  authen¬ 
tic  history,  down  to  1521,  a  period  of  about  nine 
hundred  years,  we  can  only  conjecture.  But  his¬ 
tory  has  preserved  sufficient  data  about  the  splen¬ 
dors  of  that  early  civilization  to  prove  that  the  sum 
total  of  products  of  the  mines  must  have  been  ex¬ 
ceedingly  large. 

New  Spain,  or  such  portions  of  it  as  were  occu¬ 
pied  by  the  civilized  nations  of  the  native  races, 
was,  from  about  600  A.  D.  to  the  Spanish  invasion, 
successively  ruled  by  the  Toltecs,  the  Chichimecs, 
and  the  Aztecs, f  the  Toltec  supremacy  being  the 
longest.  Those  nations  may  have  preserved  rec¬ 
ords  of  the  workings  of  the  mines,  for  they  were 
well  advanced  in  learning,  as  well  as  wealth  and 
luxuries.  The  Spanish  found,  at  the  Aztec  capital, 
a  large  collection  of  histories  and  public  docu¬ 
ments,  which  they  consigned  to  the  flames;  and, 
for  aught  we  know,  those  records  may  have  con¬ 
tained  much  information  in  regard  to  the  precious 
metals. 


*  “  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,”  by  W.  H.  Prescott,  i.  140. 
f  See  “  Native  Races  of  Pacific  States,”  by  H.  H.  Bancroft,  v.  158. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


31 


Prescott,  the  historian,  says  of  the  Toltecs,  they 
“  were  the  true  fountains  of  the  civilization  which 
distinguished  this  part  of  the  continent  in  later 
times.”*  Humboldt  says  of  the  tenth  century, 
under  Toltec  rule,  that  “  Mexico  was  in  a  more 
advanced  state  of  civilization  than  Denmark,  Swe¬ 
den,  and  Russia.”  f  The  historian  of  the  “Native 
Races  of  the  Pacific  States  ”  testifies  to  the  same 
effect  as  follows  :  “  If  the  ancient  traditions  may 
be  believed,  the  Toltec  monarchs  built  as  magnifi¬ 
cent  palaces  as  their  Aztec  successors.  The  sacred 
palace  of  that  mysterious  Toltec  priest-king,  Quet- 
zalcoatl,  had  four  principal  halls  facing  the  four 
cardinal  points.  That  on  the  east  was  called  the 
Hall  of  Gold,  because  its  halls  were  ornamented 
with  plates  of  that  metal  delicately  chased  and 
finished;  *  *  *  the  hall  facing  the  south  was 
decorated  with  plates  of  silver,  and  with  brilliant- 
colored  sea-shells  which  were  fitted  together  with 
great  skill.”  J  The  Italian  historian  of  Mexico 
says:  “The  Toltecs  were  the  most  celebrated 
people  of  Anahuac  for  their  superior  civilization 
and  skill  in  the  arts ;  whence,  in  after  ages,  it  has 
been  common  to  distinguish  the  most  remarkable 
artists,  in  an  honorable  manner,  by  the  appellation 


*  Prescott’s  “  Conquest  of  Mexico,”  i.  12. 
f  Humboldt’s  “  Researches  in  America,”  p.  83. 
%  Bancroft’s  “Native  Races,”  ii,  173. 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


32 

of  Toltecas.  * .  *  *  They  had  the  art  of  cast¬ 
ing  gold  and  silver,  and  melting  them  in  whatever 
forms  they  pleased.”  *  More  testimony  might  be 
given  showing  the  Toltecs  were  very  proficient  in 
the  arts,  and  had  advanced  to  a  high  degree  of  civ¬ 
ilization,  and  splendor.  But  it  is  too  general  in  its 
nature  to  assist  in  forming  an  estimate  of  their 
supply  of  the  precious  metals. 

The  Spanish  and  other  historians  have  left  us 
fuller  accounts  of  the  treasures  of  the  Aztecs.  Ber¬ 
nal  Diaz,  who  was  one  of  Cortez’s  soldiers  in  the 
invasion  of  Mexico,  kept  memoranda  of  events,  aqd 
in  after  years,  when  he  had  returned  to  Spain,  used 
them  as  a  basis  for  a  history  of  that  remarkable 
conquest.  His  writings  contain  frequent  allusions 
to  the  presents  from  the  Aztec  king.  The  first 
mention  is  of  one  sent  by  Montezuma  to  the  Span¬ 
ish  camp,  before  they  had  advanced  toward  the 
capital,  or  Tenochtitlon,  as  it  was  then  called.  He 
says,  after  describing  the  speech  of  the  official  who 

brought  the  presents,  “  he  then  brought  forth,  out 

* 

of  a  species  of  box,  a  quantity  of  gold  trinkets  of 
beautiful  and  skillful  workmanship.”  f 

Again,  he  tells  of  an  embassy  sent  from  Monte¬ 
zuma  to  meet  Cortez,  who  had  then  started  on  his 
march  for  the  capital.  The  ambassadors  were  ac- 

*  “  History  of  Mexico,”  by  F.  S.  Clavigero,  i.  114. 
f  “  The  Memoirs  of  the  Conquistador  Bernal  Diaz,”  i.  88. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


33 


companied  by  an  hundred  Indian  porters  well  laden 
with  presents  of  various  kinds  :  “  The  first  was  a 
round  plate,  about  the  size  of  a  wagon  wheel,  re¬ 
presenting  the  sun,  the  whole  of  the  finest  gold, 
and  of  the  most  beautiful  workmanship,  a  most 
extraordinary  work  of  art,  which,  according  to  the 
-  account  of  those  who  weighed  it,  was  worth  above 
twenty  thousand  gold  pesos.  The  second  was  a 
round  plate,  even  larger  than  the  former,  of  mas¬ 
sive  silver,  representing  the  moon,  with  rays  and 
other  figures  on  it,  being  of  great  value.  The  third 
was  the  casque,  completely  filled  with  pure  grains 
of  gold,  as  they  are  found  in  the  mines,  worth  about 
three  thousand  pesos,  which  was  more  to  us  than  if 
it  had  been  ten  times  the  value,  as  we  now  knew 
for  certain  there  were  rich  gold  mines  in  the  coun¬ 
try.  Among  other  things  there  were  also  thirty 
golden  ducks,  exactly  resembling  the  living  bird, 

i 

and  of  splendid  workmanship  ;  further  figures  re¬ 
sembling  lions,  tigers,  dogs,  and  apes ;  likewise  ten 
chains,  with  lockets,  all  of  gold,  and  of  the  most 
costly  workmanship.”  * 

Diaz  tells  of  another  embassy,  with  a  message 
from  Montezuma  to  Cortez,  while  at  the  city  of 
Tlascalla,  which  “  was  accompanied  by  a  valuable 
present  in  gold  trinkets,  of  various  workmanship, 
worth  about  one  thousand  pesos.”  f  Another,  which. 


*  Idem,  i.  90  and  91. 
2* 


\  Idem,  p.  170. 


34 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


met  Cortez  at  some  place  on  the  march  toward 
Mexico,  with  “  presents  consisting  of  gold  trinkets, 
of  various  workmanship,  worth  about  ten  thousand 
pesos.”  *  He  tells  of  another  embassy  from  Mon¬ 
tezuma  which  was  accompanied,  as  usual,  with  “  a 
present  in  gold  trinkets,  of  various  workmanship, 
worth  altogether  above  two  thousand  pesos.”  f 
Again,  of  an  embassy  which  brought  “  presents  in 
gold  and  cotton  stuffs.”  £ 

All  of  these  presents,  sent  to  Cortez,  were  before 
his  first  visit  to  the  capital  and  Montezuma’s  pal¬ 
ace.  In  Diaz’s  description  of  the  first  peaceful  en¬ 
try  of  the  Spanish  troops,  and  the  very  hospitable 
reception  by  the  Aztec  king,  he  says  that,  when 
Montezuma  conducted  Cortez  to  a  room  in  the  pal¬ 
ace,  he  “  hung  about  his  neck  a  chaste  necklace  of 
gold,  most  curiously  worked  with  figures  all  repre¬ 
senting  crabs.”  § 

But  the  bounteous  hospitality  shown  to  the 
Spaniards  did  not  satisfy  their  greed  for  gold,  and 
soon  Montezuma  was  detained  by  them  as  a  pris¬ 
oner.  They  used  the  arts  of  diplomacy  to  accom¬ 
plish  their  ends,  and  Cortez  succeeded  in  persuading 
Montezuma  to  collect  large  quantities  of  treasures 
to  send  to  the  king  of  Spain.  It  seems  that  prior 
to  this  event  the  Spanish,  while  in  possession  of 


*  Idem,  p.  190. 
X  Idem,  p.  216. 


f  Idem,  p.  210. 
§  Idem,  p.  223. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


35 


the  Aztec  palace,  had  discovered  a  secret  chamber 
or  storehouse  of  treasures  in  gold  and  silver.  This 
discovery  they  withheld  from  Montezuma.  Diaz 
tells  how  Montezuma  sent  to  the  officials  of  the 
various  provinces  of  his  empire  for  gold  to  help  fill 
out  the  proposed  present ;  how  he  added  to  the  col¬ 
lection  the  treasures  of  the  secret  chamber ;  that 
“  when  the  articles  were  set  apart  in  three  heaps 
and  weighed,  the  silver  and  other  precious  things 
was  found  to  be  worth  above  600,000  pesos ;  in  this 
are  not  included  the  gold  plates,  bars  and  gold-dust 
contributed  by  the  other  provinces.”  *  The  reader 
will  observe  that  values  are  given  for  only  a  small 
portion  of  these  presents,  but  the  total  of  those 
which  have  values  attached  is  636,000  pesos,  or 
$7,422, 1 20.f  How  much  that  would  be  increased 
if  the  value  of  the  other  treasures  was  stated  is  a 
matter  for  conjecture. 

All  of  these  acquisitions  of  treasure  by  the  Span¬ 
iards  were  prior  to  the  sanguinary  battles  which  led 
to  the  downfall  of  the  Aztec  empire.  Soon  after 
the  last-mentioned  present,  they  became  alarmed 
at  the  conduct  of  the  natives,  and  made  a  precip¬ 
itous  retreat  from  the  city.  While  fleeing  across 
the  causeway  over  the  lake,  they  were  fiercely  at- 

*  Idem,  p.  277-279. 

•f  The  value  of  pesos  is,  according  to  Prescott,  eleven  dollars  and 
sixty  seven  cents.  Pie  says  that  Diaz  always  meansytejw  de  oro ,  which 
is  different  from  pesos ,  or  the  Spanish  dollar. — Prescott,  i.  320,  321. 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


36 

tacked,  and,  according  to  Prescott,  lost  in  the  lake 
“  chests  of  solid  ingots  ”  of  their  spoils.*  After 
describing  their  return  and  attack  upon  the  city, 
and  its  final  capture,  Prescott  tells  how  the  Spanish 
were  bitterly  disappointed  in  the  amount  of  booty 
found  ;  how  they  believed  the  Aztecs  had  buried 
or  hidden  the  larger  portion  of  the  valuables  ;  how 
they  tortured  Guatomozin,  one  of  the  Aztec  offi¬ 
cials,  to  tell  where  the  treasure  was  secreted,  and 
how  he  replied  “  that  much  gold  had  been  thrown 
into  the  water;  ”  f  how  they  searched  in  a  pond  in 
the  garden  of  this  prince,  and  found  “  a  sun,  as  it  is 
called,  probably  one  of  the  Aztec  calendar  wheels, 
made  of  pure  gold  of  great  size  and  thickness.”  J 
Prescott  evidently  inclines  to  the  opinion  that  the 
Spanish  were  right  in  their  suspicions,  and  that  the 
Aztecs  had  delighted  in  defeating  the  greed  of  the 
conquerors  by  secreting  much  treasure. 

THE  WORKING  OF  THE  MINES  BY  THE  TOLTECS 

AND  AZTECS. 

But  where  did  this  great  mass  of  gold  and  silver 
come  from  ?  That  question  excited  the  curiosity 
of  the  Spaniards,  and  they  took  early  steps  to  trace 
the  localities  of  the  mines.  Diaz  says  that  soon 
after  Montezuma  was  made  a  prisoner,  Cortez  asked 
him  where  the  mines  were,  and  on  the  strength  of 


*  Prescott,  ii.  366.  f  Prescott,  iii.  234.  \  Idem,  p.  235. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


37 


the  information  received  in  reply  sent  out  three 
expeditions  to  discover  them  ;  that  one  of  the  three 
brought  back  three  hundred  pesos  of  gold-dust, 
and  reported  that  “  the  caziques  of  the  province 
employed  numbers  of  the  inhabitants  at  the  rivers 
to  wash  gold  out  of  the  sand  in  small  troughs.” 
He  says  of  the  second  expedition,  that  it  did  not 
“  return  with  empty  hands;”  and  of  the  third, 
under  Pizarro,  that  it  brought  back  gold-dust  of 
the  value  of  one  thousand  pesos ;  that  Pizarro 
reported  a  visit  to  the  Chinantec  caziques,  “  who 
ordered  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  to  repair  to 
the  river,  to  wash  the  gold-dust  from  the  sand. 
The  gold-dust  here  found  is  of  a  curly  shape,  and 
the  inhabitants  said  the  mines  where  the  metal  was 
found  in  that  shape  were  much  more  productive, 
and  the  metal  more  solid.”  * 

Prescott  says  of  working  of  the  veins  of  silver 
and  other  metals,  “  in  the  solid  rock  into  which 
they  opened  extensive  galleries,”  that  “  the  traces 
of  their  labors  furnished  the  best  indications  for 
the  early  Spanish  miners;”  that  “gold  found  on 
the  surface  or  gleaned  from  the  beds  of  rivers  was 
cast  into  bars,  or,  in  the  form  of  dust,  made  part 
of  the  regular  tribute  of  the  southern  provinces  of 
the  empire.”  f 


*  Diaz’s  “  Memoirs,”  i.  273-276. 
f  Prescott’s  “Conquest,”  i.  138,  139. 


33 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Lastly,  Baron  Humboldt,  who  had  studied  the 
resources  of  New  Spain  more  closely  than  any 
other  writer,  said  :  “  Long  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards,  the  nations  of  Mexico,  as  well  as  those 
of  Peru,  were  acquainted  with  the  use  of  several 
metals.  They  did  not  content  themselves  with 
those  which  were  found  in  their  native  state  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  particularly  in  the 
beds  of  rivers  and  the  ravines  formed  by  the  tor¬ 
rents  ;  they  applied  themselves  to  subterraneous 
operations  in  the  working  of  veins  ;  they  cut  gal¬ 
leries  and  dug  pits  of  communication  and  ventila¬ 
tion,  and  they  had  instruments  adapted  for  cutting 
the  rock.”* 

Such  is  the  array  of  testimony  of  the  historians. 
It  proves  that  the  civilized  native  races  worked  the 
mines  in  an  extensive  and  scientific  manner;  that 
they  possessed  enormous  quantities  of  treasure ; 
and  that,  as  artists  in  the  working  of  gold  and  sil¬ 
ver  they  were  more  skillful  than  the  goldsmiths  of 
Europe.  Adding  to  this  evidence  the  fact  that  the 
Aztec  nation  was  very  numerous,  that  their  cities 
were  many  and  large,  their  architecture  costly  and 
magnificent,  and  their  living  luxurious,  it  is  appa¬ 
rent  that  the  sum  total  of  their  products  of  silver 
and  gold  must  have  been  very  large.  But  it  is  im¬ 
possible  to  affix  a  definite  value.  Only  by  a  com- 


*  Humboldt’s  “  New  Spain,”  iii.  109. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


39 


parison  of  their  products  with  those  since  the  con¬ 
quest  can  an  estimate  of  the  value  be  obtained,  and 
that  must  be  an  unsatisfactory  one. 

It  may  not  seem  unreasonable  to  suppose  that 
the  total  products  of  gold  and  silver  in  the  South¬ 
west,  under  the  civilization  of  the  native  races,  for  a 
period  of  nine  hundred  years,  was  equal  to  one-fifth 
of  the  total  products  during  the  three  hundred  and 
fifty-five  years  since  the  conquest. 

What,  then,  have  the  mines  yielded  since  the 
Spanish  invasion  ? 

PRODUCT  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  MEXICO, 

1521-1804.* 

For  the  statistics  of  this  period  Baron  Humboldt 
is  the  standard  authority,  and  his  estimates  have 
been  accepted  as  correct  by  nearly  every  historian 
and  statistician.  His  great  reputation  as  a  scien¬ 
tific  man  procured  for  him  unusual  privileges  from 


*  This  period  is  to,  but  not  inclusive  of,  1S04.  Whenever  a  pe¬ 
riod  is  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  the  estimates  are  inclusive  of 
the  first  year,  but  not  inclusive  of  the  last.  The  reader,  if  he  has 
occasion  to  compare  any  of  these  estimates  with  those  of  the  au¬ 
thorities  from  which  they  are  taken,  may  occasionally  meet  with  an 
apparent  mistake  ;  but  on  examination  he  will  find  the  discrepancy 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  figures  of  the  original  source  are  inclusive 
of  the  last  year.  There  is  such  a  difference  of  statisticians  in  this 
respect,  and  so  frequent  an  omission  to  tell  whether  the  estimates  are 
or  are  not  inclusive  of  the  last  year,  that  great  care  is  necessary  in 
making  quotations. 


40 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


the  king  of  Spain,  who  allowed  him  the  freedom 
of  the  Spanish  colonial  possessions  in  America  for 
the  purposes  of  his  explorations  and  report.  How 
well  he  improved  the  opportunity  is  shown  by  the 
completeness  of  the  report  on  the  resources  of  New 
Spain.  In  compiling  his  statistics  be  made  use  of 
the  official  registry  of  coinage  for  the  period  1690- 
1.804.  But  for  the  period  1521-1690  he  based  his 
calculations  partly  upon  official  records  and  partly 
upon  estimates  of  his  own,  for  the  registry  was  in¬ 
complete  prior  to  1690. 

The  amount  of  coinage  of  gold  and  silver  of  New 
Spain  (Mexico  and  New  Spain  then  being  intercon¬ 
vertible  terms),  as  stated  by  him,  is  as  follows :  * 

1521-1548 .  $40,500,000 

1548-1690 . , .  374,000,000 

1690-1804 .  1,353,452,000 

Total  coinage .  $1,767,952,000 

To  this  he  adds  one-seventh,  or,  in  round  num¬ 
bers,  $260,000,000,  for  that  portion  of  the  product 
of  the  mines  which,  for  various  reasons,  failed  to 
pass  through  the  mints,  making  the  total  products 
of  gold  and  silver  for  the  whole  period,  ending  at 
the  beginning  of  1804,  $2,027,952,000. 


*  Humboldt,  iii.  413-420. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD . 


41 


PRODUCTS  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  MEXICO, 

1804-1848. 

For  the  products  of  silver  and  gold  of  Mexico  for 
the  period  1804-1848  (this  period,  also,  being  prior 
to  the  cessions  of  territory  to  the  United  States, 
and  New  Spain  and  Mexico  being  one  and  the 
same  territory),  the  statistics  of  Danson  read  be¬ 
fore  the  Statistical  Society  of  London,  in  1850,  are 
very  elaborate  and  sufficiently  cautious  to  be  inside 
rather  than  outside  the  true  amount. 

They  are  so  well  substantiated  by  explanations 
and  reasoning  that  we  will  adopt  them  in  prefer¬ 
ence  to  the  estimates  of  any  other  authority.*  He 
based  his  calculations  for  the  period  1804-1847 
upon  the  returns  of  the  British  consuls  and  the  work 
in  Spanish  of  M.  St.  Clair  Duport.  For  the  year 
1847  he  took  an  average  of  the  products  of  the  five 
preceding  years.  It  will  be  observed  that  Danson 
includes  the  year  1848,  and  that  the  following  sta¬ 
tistics  differ  because  of  the  omission  of  that  year, 
and  it  is  better  to  include  1848  in  the  next  period, 
as  it  is  the  beginning  of  the  yield  of  gold  in  Cali¬ 
fornia. 

The  registered  product  of  gold  for  the  period 
1804-1848  is  $31,038,815.  And  the  registered  pro¬ 
duct  of  silver  is  $548,334,598.  Danson  estimates 


*  Journal  of  Statistical  Society  of  London,  xiv.  26,  27. 


42 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


the  registered  product  of  gold  as  three-eighths  of 
the  whole  product,  and  the  registered  product  of 
silver  as  four-fifths  of  the  whole  product.  We  have, 
then,  as  the  total  product  of  gold  of  New  Spain  for 
the  period  1804-1848,  $82,770,173  ;  the  total  pro¬ 
duct  of  silver,  $685,418,247  ;  and  the  total  product 
of  both  metals,  $768,188,420. 

PRODUCT  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  MEXICO, 

1848-1876. 

For  this  period  Mexico  and  New  Spain  are  not 
identical,  for  New  Spain  was  divided  at  the  close 
of  the  Mexican  war.  We  will,  then,  hereafter  con¬ 
sider  separately  the  products  of  Mexico  and  the 
other  divisions  of  New  Spain. 

The  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office, 
in  his  annual  report  for  1867,  made  a  special  and 
very  elaborately  prepared  report  on  the  products  of 
the  precious  metals.  He  estimates  the  products  of 

Mexico  to  the  beginning  of  1868  as  follows  :  * 

» 

Gold.  Silver.  Both  Metals. 

I848-I868,  $50,000,000  $420,000,000  $470,000,000 

The  report  estimates  the  annual  product  (the 
time  of  writing  being  1867)  as  $26,000,000  in  silver 
and  $3,000,000  in  gold.  Phillips,  an  English  au¬ 
thority  whose  estimates  are  much  quoted,  said  of 


*  Report  of  Commissioner  of  General  Land  Office  for  1867,  p.  187. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


43 


Mexico  in  1867:  “  Since  1850,  however,  the  mines 
of  Mexico  have  regained  their  ancient  prosperity, 
and  their  present  annual  produce  cannot  be  much 
less  than  $26,000,000  in  silver  and  $3,200,000  in 
gold.”  * 

The  United  States  Consul-General  at  Mexico,  in 
his  report  to  the  State  Department,  estimates  the 
products  of  Mexico,  for  1875,  as  $75,000  in  gold, 
and  $27,000,000  in  silver. 

For  the  eight  years  1868  to  1876,  we  will  adopt 
the  estimate  of  the  annual  product,  as  given  by  the 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office, f  which 
makes  the  silver  product,  $208,000,000,  and  the  gold 
product,  $24,000,000. 

The  total  product  of  both  metals  in  Mexico  is, 
then,  as  follows : 

1848-1876 . $702,000,000 

PRODUCT  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  CALIFORNIA, 

1848-1876. 

For  the  products  of  the  precious  metals  of  this 
State  and  other  States  in  the  cession  from  Mexico, 
we  have  as  authority  the  various  reports  of  the 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Mining  Statistics 

*  “  The  Mining  and  Metallurgy  of  Gold  and  Silver,”  by  J.  A.  Phil¬ 
lips,  p.  269-270. 

f  See  Report  for  1867,  p.  187. 


44 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


except  for  the  year  1876.  Unfortunately  the  report 
for  that  year  was  left  unprovided  for  by  Congress. 

The  reports  are  ten  in  number,  and  for  the  years 
1866  to  1875,  inclusive.  The  second  report  by  J. 
Ross  Browne,  the  first  Commissioner,  gives  an  esti¬ 
mate  of  the  product  from  the  first  discovery  of  gold 
in  1848  to  the  beginning  of  1868.*  Adopting  that 
estimate  and  the  annual  estimates  thereafter  to 
1876,  we  have,  as  the  total  product  of  gold  and  sil¬ 
ver,  the  following  : 


1848-1868  . 

.  . . .  $900,000,000 

1 863  . 

.  22,000,000 

I869 . 

I87O . 

1871 . . . 

1872 . 

.  19,049,098 

1873 . 

1874 . 

.  20,300,531 

1875  . 

.  17.753,151 

Total  1848-1876  . . . . 

....  $1,064,628,502 

It  will  be  observed  that  according  to  the  above 
table  the  average  annual  yield  of  the  California 
mines,  during  the  first  twenty  years  after  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  mining  operations,  was  $45,000,000, 
or  more  than  double  what  it  has  been  since.  The 
largest  product  was  in  1853,  when  it  reached 


*  See  Report  for  1867,  p.  6 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


45 


$65,000,000.*  The  average  annual  product  for  the 
whole  period  of  twenty-eight  years  is  $38,022,446. 

PRODUCT  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  NEVADA, 

1848-1876. 

The  mines  of  Nevada  were  not  worked  until 
1859,  when  silver  was  first  discovered.  The  pro¬ 
ducts  of  the  precious  metals,  as  estimated  in  the 
various  official  reports  of  the  United  States  Com¬ 
missioner  of  Mining  Statistics,  down  to  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  1876,  are: 


1848-1868 . 

1868 . 

1869 . 

1870 . 

1871 . 

1872 . 

.  25,548,801 

1873 . 

.  35.254,507 

1 874 . 

.  35,452,233 

1875 . 

.  40,478,369 

Total . 

. $293,233,910 

The  average  annual  product  of  this  Territory, 
from  the  discovery  of  silver  in  1859  to  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  1876,  a  period  of  seventeen  years,  was 
$17,249,053. 


*  Raymond’s  estimate  in  vol.  iii.  Transactions  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  p.  202. 


46 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


PRODUCT  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  ARIZONA, 

1848-1876. 

Arizona  was  a  portion  of  the  Territory  of  New 
Mexico  until  1863,  when  it  was  organized  as  a 
separate  Territory.  The  Government  Commissioner 
of  Mining  Statistics  estimates  the  combined  pro¬ 
ducts  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  from  1848  to 
1868,  as  $5,000,000.*  It  is  probably  nearly  cor¬ 
rect  to  consider  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  as  equal 
in  their  products  for  that  period.  Beginning  with 
1868,  the  Commissioner  gives  the  separate  products 
down  to  1876: 


1848-1868 .  $2,500,000 

1868  .  500,000 

1 869  .  1 ,000,000 

1 870  .  800,000 

1871  .  800,000 

1872  .  625,000 

1873  .  500,000 

1874  .  487,000 

1875  .  750.000 


Total,  1848-1876 .  $7,962,000 


*  See  Commissioner’s  Report  for  1867,  p.  6. 1 


I 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


4  7 


PRODUCT  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  NEW  MEXICO, 

1848-1876. 

The  mines  of  New  Mexico  were  worked  for 
many  years  prior  to  1848,  but  probably  in  a  small 
manner.  Blake  says:  “The  gold  field  of  New 
Mexico  has  been  known  and  worked  since  1828. 
The  portion  so  known  is  confined  to  the  Placer  or 
Gold  Mountains,  about  twenty  miles  from  Santa 
Fe,  towards  Albuquerque.  The  yield  of  gold  has 
been  chiefly  from  placers,  and  was  estimated  by 
Wislizenus,  in  1847,  to  vary  from  $30,000  to  $250,- 
000  a  year,  but  it  soon  after  diminished,  until  it 
became  comparatively  insignificant.”*  It  is  evi¬ 
dent  they  were  worked  at  a  much  earlier  period, 
and  possibly  by  the  native  races  before  the  Span¬ 
ish  conquest  of  New  Mexico.  Gregg,  who  was  for 
several  years  a  Santa  Fe  trader,  and  was  familiar 
with  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico,  says :  “  In  every 
quarter  of  the  Territory  there  are  still  to  be  seen 
vestiges  of  ancient  excavations,  and  in  some  places 
ruins  of  considerable  towns,  evidently  reared  for 
mining  purposes.”  f 

But  whatever  New  Mexico  may  have  yielded  in 
precious  metals  prior  to  1848  is  immaterial  here, 
for  until  then  it  belonged  to  Old  Mexico,  and  its 

*  “The  Production  of  the  Precious  Metals,”  by  W.  P.  Blake,  pp. 
43  and  44. 

f  “  Commerce  of  the  Prairies/’  by  Josiah  Gregg,  i.  164. 


43 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


product  is  included  in  the  estimate  of  that  repub¬ 
lic  on  a  prior  page. 

Estimating  the  product  of  New  Mexico,  in  the 
same  way  we  did  that  of  Arizona,  the  following 
result  is  reached  as  the  total  of  silver  and  gold  : 


1848-1868 . $2,500,000 

1868 .  250,000 

i86^ .  500,000 

1870 .  500,000 

1871. .  500,000 

1872  .  500,000 

1873  .  500,000 

1874  . 500,000 

1875  . 325,000 

Total,  1848-1876 .  $6,075,000 


PRODUCT  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  UTAH, 

1848-1876. 

The  mines  of  Utah  were  not  worked  in  any  ex¬ 
tensive  manner  until  1868,  although  silver  was  dis¬ 
covered  in  1863.*  Taking  the  products  of  this  Ter¬ 
ritory  from  the  annual  reports  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Mining  Statistics  for  the  period  1870  to  1876,  and 
prior  to  that  period  Prof.  Raymond’s  estimate,  as 
given  elsewhere, f  we  have  a  total  product  of  sil¬ 
ver  and  gold  as  follows  : 


*  Paper  on  Utah  in  American  Cyclopaedia. 


f  Idem. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD . 


49 


1 868- 1 869 .  $600,000 

1870 .  1,300,000 

1871, . • .  2,300,000 

1872  .  2,445,284 

1873  .  3,778,200 

1874  .  3,911,601 

1875  .  3,137,688 


Total,  1848-1 876 .  $17,472,773 


PRODUCT  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  SOUTHERN 
AND  WESTERN  COLORADO  FROM  1848-1876. 

The  product  of  the  whole  State,  calculated  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  above  products  of  the  Terri¬ 
tories,  from  1848  to  1876,  was  $59,695,708. 

But  it  is  only  Southern  and  Western  Colorado 
which  come  within  the  limits  of  New  Spain,  and 
consequently  it  is  only  the  products  of  those  por¬ 
tions  of  the  State  which  are  of  importance  for  the 
purposes  of  this  work. 

The  larger  portion  of  Grand  County,  the  western 
half  of  Summit,  most  of  Lake,  the  Ute  Indian 
Reservation,  all  of  Saguache,  La  Plata,  Hinsdale, 
Conejo,  Rio  Grande,  Costilla,  Las  Animas,  Huer- 
fana,  the  southern  half  of  Fremont,  and  Pueblo, 
and  the  southern  third  of  Bent  counties  come  with¬ 
in  the  limits  of  New  Spain.  According  to  the  re¬ 
port  for  1874  of  the  United  States  Commissioner- 
3 


50 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


of  Mining  Statistics,  the  product  of  precious  metal 
of  Colorado,  by  counties,  was  as  follows  : 


Clear  Creek  County .  $2,203,947 

Gilpin  “  1,631,863 

Park  “  596,392 

Boulder  “  539,870 

Lake  “  223,503 

Summit  “  126,188 

Southern  counties .  40,620 


Total .  $5.362.383 


It  appears  from  the  above  that  the  Spanish  por¬ 
tion  of  Colorado  has,  in  the  past,  yielded  very  little 
of  the  annual  products  of  silver  and  gold.  But  it 
is  possible  that  in  the  future  it  will  furnish  the 
greater  portion  of  the  precious  metals,  for  the  won¬ 
derfully  rich  mines  of  the  San  Juan  region  in  the 
southwestern  portion  of  the  State  are  about  receiv¬ 
ing  a  suitable  development.* 

TOTAL  PRODUCT  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  THE 
SOUTHWEST  OF  NEW  SPAIN — I  52 1  — 1 8/6. 

The  above  estimates  of  the  products  of  New 
Spain,  prior  to  its  division  of  territory  in  1848, 
and  of  its  various  divisions  since  1848,  make  the 
following  sum  total  of  products  of  silver  and  gold  : 


*  United  States  Commissioner’s  Report  for  1874,  p.  358. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


51 


Mexico,  1521-1804 .  $2,027,952,000 

“  1804-1848 .  768,188,420 

“  1848-1876 .  702,000,000 

California,  1848-1876 .  1,064,628,502 

Nevada,  1848-1876 .  293,233,910 

Arizona,  1848-1876 .  7,962,000 

New  Mexico,  1848-1876 .  6,075,000 

Utah,  1848-1 876 . 17,472,773 


Total  of  New  Spain,  1521-1876,  $4,887,512,605 

To  the  above  is  to  be  added  the  product  of  silver 
and  gold  in  the  Southwest  during  the  previous 
nine  hundred  years  of  Toltec  and  Aztec  civiliza¬ 
tion,  wealth,  and  luxury.  If  the  reader  thinks  the 
total  of  that  product  is  equal  to  the  amount  pro¬ 
duced  during  the  three  hundred  and  twenty-five 
years  since  the  conquest  of  Mexico  in  1521,  he 
will  have  to  add  about  one  thousand  millions  more. 

PROGRESS  OF  MINING  IN  THE  SOUTHWEST. 

The  amount  of  coinage  for  different  periods,  al¬ 
though  a  little  less  than  the  amount  of  products  of 
silver  and  gold,  may  serve  as  well  to  indicate  the 
progress  of  the  mining  industry  of  the  South¬ 
west. 

The  registered  coinage  of  silver  and  gold  of  New 
Spain,  as  given  by  Humboldt,  for  the  period  1521 


52 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


to  1800,  by  Ward  for  the  period  1800  to  1825,  and 
by  Blake  for  the  period  1825  to  1848,  is  as  follows  :* 


Amount  of 

A  verage  An- 

Years. 

Coinage. 

mtal  Coinage. 

1521-1548 . 

1548-1690 . 

1690-1700 . 

.  43.&7G335.-.. 

.  4,387,133 

T  *700— T  *7  TO 

c 1 ,7a  1 ,0^4.  . .  . 

1710-1720 . 

.  65,747,027 - 

•  -  6,574,702 

1720-1730 . 

.  ....  8,415,322 

T’Tin  T  *7/1 0 . 

.  .  QO,  ^20, 7 SO.  .  .  . 

1740-1750 . 

.  11,185,504 

1750-1760 . 

.  125,750,094 - 

1760-1770 . 

1770-1780 . 

1780-1790 . 

.  193,504,554 - 

.  19,350,455 

1790-1800 . 

I8OO-I8IO . 

. 22,628,571 

1810-1825 . 

1825-1848 . 

. 284,499,  S53 - 

.  12,369,558 

It  will  be  observed  that  from  the  conquest  in  the 
year  1521,  down  to  1810,  when  the  native  Mexican 
priest,  Hidalgo,  attempted  a  revolution  against  the 
merciless  rule  of  the  Spanish,  the  development  of 
the  mines  was  a  steady  and  continuous  growth, 
with  but  one  or  two  slight  exceptions  ;  that  during 
the  last  decade  of  the  last  century,  and  the  first 
decade  of  the  present  century,  the  mining  industry 


*  Humboldt’s  “New  Spain,”  ni.  294  and  413-420.  “Mexico  in 
1827,”  by  H.  G.  Ward,  i.  286.  “  Production  of  the  Precious  Metals,” 
by  Blake,  p.  316. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


53 


had  reached  a  high  degree  of  development.  This 
was  just  prior  to  the  attempt  in  1810  by  Hidalgo 
and  others  to  establish  the  independence  of  Mexico. 

Ward  attributes  the  steady  increase  of  the  pro¬ 
duct  of  the  mines,  up  to  1810,  to  the  influence  of 
the  liberal  laws  and  regulations,  in  regard  to  min¬ 
ing,  prescribed  by  the  Spanish  authorities.  But 
mark  the  falling-off  for  the  fifteen  years  following 
this  period,  including  the  attempted  revolution 
by  Hidalgo,  and  the  successful  revolution  of  1821, 
under  the  lead  of  Iturbide,  also  a  native  Mexican. 

Ward  says  of  this  period:  “After  the  great  con¬ 
vulsions  of  i8to,  1 8 1 1 ,  and  1812,  nothing  remained 
to  denote,  amidst  the  general  wreck,  the  epoch  of 
splendor  which  had  so  immediately  preceded  it.”  * 

The  above  table  of  coinage  being  arranged  ac¬ 
cording  to  shorter  periods  than  those  we  have 
chosen  to  represent  the  products,  gives  a  clearer 
idea  of  the  progress  of  mining  operations  in  Mex¬ 
ico,  prior  to  1848,  than  the  average  of  annual  pro¬ 
ducts.  But  to  illustrate  the  progress  of  the  whole 
of  New  Spain,  both  prior  and  subsequent  to  1848, 
a  statement  of  the  average  annual  products  is  the 
most  convenient  manner  of  reaching  the  result. 

Using  the  totals  of  products  of  silver  and  gold 
of  New  Spain,  as  given  in  the  preceding  pages,  the 
average  annual  products  are  as  follows : 


*  Ward,  i.  400. 


54 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


1521-1804  (283  years) .  $7,165,908 

1804-1848  (44  years) .  17,458,827 

1848-1876  (28  years) .  74,691,863 


PRODUCTS  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  THE  SOUTH¬ 
WEST  COMPARED  WITH  EACH  OTHER. 

Humboldt  said  at  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century:  “We  may  reckon  that  in  times 
of  peace,  when  the  want  of  mercury  does  not 
impede  the  process  of  amalgamation,  the  annual 
produce  of  New  Spain  is,  in  silver,  22,000,000  of 
piasters;  in  gold,  1,000,000  of  piasters.”*  Danson 
gives  the  separate  products  of  New  Spain  for  the 
period  1492  to  1804!  as — 


Silver .  $1,948,952,000 

Gold .  79,000,000 


For  the  period  1804  to  1848,  Danson  estimates 
the  separate  products  of  Mexico  to  be — 

In  silver .  $685,418,247 

In  gold .  82,770,173 

The  estimates  of  the  separate  products  of  gold 
and  silver  of  Mexico  are,  for  the  next  period,  and 
as  given  on  previous  pages  of  this  chapter,  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 


*  Humboldt,  iii.  147. 

f  Journal  of  Statistical  Society  of  London,  1851,  p.  19. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


55 


1848-1868,  silver .  $420,000,000 

gold .  50,000,000 

And  for  the  period 

1868-1876,  silver .  $208,000,000 

gold .  24,000,000 

The  product  of  the  precious  metals  of  California 
are  usually  considered,  and  estimated,  as  all  gold, 
hence  for  this  State  there  is  no  comparison  to  be 
made.  The  gold  product,  as  previously  given,  is 
for  the  period  1848-18 76,  $1,064,628,502. 

Nevada,  in  marked  contrast,  is  a  silver-producing 
State,  but  its  product  is  not  all  silver.*  Raymond 
divides  the  total  product  of  that  State,  for  the  year 
1875,  as  follows  :  f 


Silver .  $28,332,151 

Gold .  12,146,218 


This  division  makes  the  silver  product  about  70 
per  cent,  of  the  total  product,  or,  to  be  exact,  69^^ 
per  cent. 

The  whole  product  of  precious  metals  of  this 
State,  from  the  first  working  of  the  mines  to  1874, 
inclusive,  is  separated  in  an  estimate  given  in  the 

*  There  seems  to  be  a  conflict  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  proper 
division  of  the  product  of  Nevada.  The  forthcoming  report  of  the 
Silver  Commission  will  doubtless  review  in  detail  the  ratio  of  silver 
to  gold. 

f  See  Commissioner’s  Report  for  1875,  chapter  on  Nevada. 


56 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


paper  on  Nevada,  in  the  American  Cyclopaedia, 
which  estimate  is  credited  to  Professor  Raymond. 
The  silver,  as  there  given,  is  74TW  Per  cent,  of  the 
combined  products.  As  this  is  a  greater  percent¬ 
age  of  silver  than  given  for  the  single  year  1875,  we 
will  divide  the  product  of  Nevada  for  the  whole 
period  to  1876  as  follows:  74  per  cent,  silver  and 
26  per  cent.  gold.  We  have  as  the  result  : 


Silver . $216,993,093 

Gold .  76,240,817 


Relying  upon  the  same  authorities  for  an  esti¬ 
mate  of  the  separate  products  of  Utah,  for  the  year 
1875,  and  also  for  the  period  prior  to  that  year, 
commencing  with  the  first  development  in  1868,  we 
,  have  the  following  as  the  result : 

1868-1876,  silver . . . $15,925,485 

gold .  1,547^92 

It  is  impossible  to  give  a  satisfactory  division  of 
the  products  of  New  Mexico  or  of  Arizona.  In 
fact  the  authorities  widely  differ  in  regard  to  the 
amount  of  the  combined  products.  But  the  small 
amounts  of  the  products  of  those  undeveloped  Ter¬ 
ritories  since  1848,  will  not,  if  inaccurately  stated, 
make  any  essential  difference  in  the  general  com¬ 
parison  of  silver  and  gold  of  the  whole  of  New 
Spain  for  the  long  period  1521  to  1876.  New  Mex- 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


57 


ico  was  formerly  considered  a  gold-producing  State, 
but  for  the  year  1875  the  Commissioner  of  Mining 
Statistics  considers  the  product  nearly  all  silver. 
Arizona  produces  both  gold  and  silver.  It  may  not 
be  far  from  correct  to  combine  the  products  of  pre¬ 
cious  metals  of  the  two  Territories,  and  estimate  the 
same  as  half  silver  and  half  gold.  We  have,  then,  as 
the  separate  products  of  the  two  Territories  for  the 
period  1848-1876 — 


Silver . $7,018,500 

Gold .  7,018,500 


A  summary  of  the  above  gives  as  the  result  of 
the  comparison  the  following: 


Silver  Product.  Gold  Product. 

Mexico . 1492-1804  $1,948,952,000  $79,000,000 

“  . 1804-1848  685,418,247  82,770,173 

“  . 1848-1868  420,000,000  50,000,000 

“  . 1868-1876  208,000,000  24,000,000 

California . 1848-1876  - - -  1,064,628,502 

Nevada . 1848-1876  216,993,093  76,240,817 

Utah . 1848-1876  15,925,485  1,547,292 

Ariz.  and  New  Mex. ...  1848-1876  7,018,500  7,018,500 

Total . $3,502,307,325  $1,385,205,284 


The  totals  show  that  of  the  precious  metals  pro¬ 
duced  by  the  Southwest,  from  its  first  settlement 
by  Cortez,  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  year  1876, 
7 MV Pcr  cent.,  or  nearly  three-fourths ,  was  silver . 


58 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


PRODUCT  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  THE  SOUTH¬ 
WEST  COMPARED  WITH  THAT  OF  THE  WORLD. 

Perhaps  no  more  carefully  prepared  estimate  of 
the  world's  product  of  silver  and  gold  can  be  found 
than  Wilson’s  estimate,  from  the  discovery  of  Amer¬ 
ica,  in  1492,  to  the  commencement  of  1868.  Of 
course  it  is  impossible  to  give  the  products  of  the 
uncivilized  portion  of  the  world.  Wilson’s  esti¬ 
mate  includes  America,  Europe,  Asiatic  Russia, 
Australia,  New  Zealand,  and  portions  of  Northern 
Africa.*  The  following  estimate  of  the  world’s  pro¬ 
duct  of  silver  and  gold  from  1868  to  1876  is  from 
the  “  Journal  des  Economistes,”  quoted  in  the  elab¬ 
orate  Report  of  the  Select  Committee  of  Parlia¬ 
ment,  in  1876,  on  the  depreciation  of  silver. f  The 
amount  of  silver  and  gold  produced  in  the  world 
since  the  discovery  of  America  is  as  follows : 


1492-1868 . . . $1 1,766,825,889 

1868-1876 .  1,345,000,000 

Total .  $13,111,825,889 


We  have  taken  the  product  of  the  world  from 
1492,  as  nearly  all  statistics  of  the  world’s  products 


*  Report  of  Commissioner  of  General  Land  Office  for  1867,  p. 
213. 

f  Report  from  the  Select  Committee  on  Depreciation  of  Silver,  p. 
140  of  Appendix. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


59 


of  precious  metals  are  arranged  according  to  cer¬ 
tain  periods,  one  of  which  invariably  begins  with 
the  discovery  of  America.  But  New  Spain’s  sta¬ 
tistics  begin  with  1521,  so  in  the  following  compari¬ 
son  the  world  has  the  advantage  by  twenty-nine 
years;  The  comparison  shows  that  New  Spain 
produced  thirty-seven  per  cent.,  or  considerably 
over  one-third  of  the  silver  and  gold  of  the  whole 
world. 

PRODUCT  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF  MEXICO  SINCE 
1848,  COMPARED  WITH  THAT  OF  THE  TERRI¬ 
TORY  CEDED  BY  HER  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Referring  to  the  statistics  on  previous  pages,  we 
find  the  total  product  of  silver  and  gold  of  Mexico, 
from  1848  to  1876,  to  be  $702,000,000,  and  the  total 
product  of  the  territory  ceded  by  her  to  the  United 
States,  in  1848  and  1853,  was,  f°r  the  same  period, 
$1,389,372,185.  In  other  words,  the  territory  ceded 
by  Mexico  has,  since  1848,  yielded  twice  as  much 
silver  and  gold  as  the  territory  she  retained. 

PRODUCT,  SINCE  1 848,  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD  OF 
THE  TERRITORY  ACQUIRED  FROM  MEXICO, 
COMPARED  WITH  THAT  OF  THE  REST  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

Referring  again  to  the  statistics  above  given  on 
previous  pages,  we  find  the  total  product  of  silver 


6o 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


and  gold,  from  1848  to  1876,  of  the  various  States 
and  Territories  of  the  acquisitions  from  Mexico  in 
1848  and  1853,  was  $*5389,372,185.  The  product 
of  the  whole  United  States,  according  to  Raymond, 
is,  from  1848  to  1876,  $1,574, 045, 802.*  Deducting 
from  that  total  the  amount  of  the  product  of  the 
territory  acquired  from  Mexico,  and  there  is  left, 
as  the  product  of  the  rest  of  the  United  States, 
$184,673,617.  In  other  words,  over  seven-eighths 
of  the  silver  and  gold  of  the  whole  United  States 
from  1848  to  1876  was  produced  by  the  territory 
acquired  from  Mexico.  Who  will  say  that  our  in¬ 
vestment  was  not  a  profitable  one? 

SILVER  PRODUCT  OF  THE  SOUTHWEST,  OR  NEW 
SPAIN,  COMPARED  WITH  THAT  OF  THE  WHOLE 
WORLD. 

Baron  Humboldt  wrote,  about  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century,  “  The  two  millions  and  a  half 
of  marcs  of  silver  annually  exported  from  Vera 
Cruz  are  equal  to  two-thirds  of  the  silver  annually 
extracted  from  the  whole  globe.  ’  ’  f 

But  what  portion  of  the  world’s  product  has  the 
Southwest  furnished  since  the  discovery  of  Amer¬ 
ica,  and  why  is  the  Southwest  entitled  to  be  called 
the  silver  country? 

*  See  Raymond’s  Annual  Report,  viii.  544,  and  also  Annual  Re- 
portsfor  years  1874,  1865. 

f  Humboldt’s  “  New  Spain,”  iii.  146. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD.  5r 

The  following  estimates  of  the  world’s  yield  of 
silver,  from  1492  to  1868,  are  from  the  statistics  of 
Wilson  ;  and  by  the  world  is  meant  America, 
Europe,  Asiatic  Russia,  Australia,  New  Zealand, 
and  portions  of  Northern  Africa,  those  being  the 
only  portions  whose  products  can  be  ascertained.* 
The  estimate  of  the  world’s  silver,  from  1868  to 
1876,  is  that  given  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Statistics,  as  published  in  the  British  report  on  the 
depreciation  of  silver,  f 

The  statistics  of  the  silver  of  New  Spain  are 
compiled  from  the  estimates  and  percentages  on 
the  preceding  pages  of  this  chapter. 


Silver  Product  Silver  Product 


of  the  World.  of  Nexv  Spain. 

1492-1804  $4,455,130,000  -  $1,948,952,000 

1804-1848  1,223,781,674  _  685,418,247 

1843-1868  971,060,000  ....  489,100,000 

1868-1876  582,100,000  ....  378,837,078 


Total,  1492-1876. .  $7,232,071,674  $3,502,307,325 


It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  above  table  the 
product  of  New  Spain  is  given  commencing  with 
1492,  whereas  the  tables  on  previous  pages  give 
the  product  of  New  Spain  as  commencing  in  1521. 
But  the  mines  of  New  Spain  were-  not  worked  by 
the  Spanish  until  the  conquest  in  1521,  hence  it  is 


*  Report  of  Commissioner  of  General  Land  Office  for  1867,  p.  213. 
f  See  Appendix  to  that  Report,  p.  140. 


62 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


fair  to  call  this  the  total  product  from  the  date  of 
the  discovery  of  America;  and  as  all  estimates  of 
the  world’s  products  are  for  certain  periods,  one 
of  which  always  commences  with  1492,  it  is  im¬ 
possible  to  arrange  the  comparison  in  any  other 
way. 

Still  more  striking  is  the  comparison  of  the  silver 
products  of  the  world  and  New  Spain  for  the  year 
1875,  or  the  last  year  of  the  above  table.  The 
British  report  on  the  “Depreciation  of  Silver” 
gives,  in  the  appendix,  three  different  estimates, 
each  from  a  different  source,  of  the  world’s  pro¬ 
duct  of  silver  for  1875.  One,  in  a  paper  submitted 
by  Sir  Hector  Hay,  is  ^16,100,000  sterling,  or 
$77,924,000 ;  * * * §  a  second,  from  the  Bureau  of  Sta¬ 
tistics  of  the  United  States,  is  $77,700,000 ;  f  and 
a  third,  taken  from  the  “  Journal  des  Economistes,” 
is  $62,000,000.  J  The  silver  product  of  Mexico,  for 
1875,  according  to  the  United  States  Consul-Gen¬ 
eral  at  the  city  of  Mexico,  “  may  safely  be  esti¬ 
mated  at  $27,000,000.”  §  Raymond  estimates  the 
silver  of  Nevada,  for  1875,  as  we  have  already 
stated  on  a  previous  page,  to  be  $28,332,151  ;  and 
he  estimates  the  silver  of  Utah,  for  1875,  to  be 

*  Report  on  the  Depreciation  of  Silver,  Appendix,  p.  25. 

f  Idem,  p.  146. 

\  Idem,  p.  140. 

§  “Commercial  Relations  of  United  States  with  Foreign  Coun¬ 
tries  for  1875,”  p.  1120. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


63 


$2>955>922-*  Raymond  estimates  the  silver  pro¬ 
duct  of  New  Mexico,  for  1875,  to  be  $225,ooo.f 
Calling  the  silver  product  of  Arizona,  for  1875, 
$375>°oo,  which  is  one-half  of  its  total  product  of 
silver  and  gold,  and  combining  the  above  products, 
we  have  the  total  silver  product  of  New  Spain  for 
1875*  Selecting  the  middle  one  of  the  above  esti¬ 
mates  of  the  world’s  product,  which  is  that  of  the 
Bureau  of  Statistics,  and  comparing  it  with  that  of 
New  Spain,  we  have  the  following  result  as  the  sil¬ 
ver  product  for  1875  : 

The  World .  $77,700,000 

New  Spain .  58,888,073 

The  above  comparisons  show  that  the  Southwest, 
from  the  conquest  in  1521  to  1804,  yielded  forty- 
three  per  cent,  of  the  silver  product  of  the  whole 
world  ;  +  from  1804  to  1848,  fifty-six  percent,  of  the 
silver  product  of  the  world;  from  1848  to  1868, 
fifty  per  cent,  of  the  silver  product  of  the  world  ; 
from  1868  to  1875,  sixty-five  per  cent,  of  the  silver 
product  of  the  world  ;  and  during  the  year  1875, 
seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  silver  product  of  the 
world. 

*  See  Report  of  Mining  Commissioner  for  1875,  chapter  on  Utah. 

f  Idem,  chapter  on  New  Mexico. 

f  The  percentage  of  New  Spain  would  be  slightly  increased  for 
this  period  if  we  could  compare  it  with  the  world  from  1521,  in¬ 
stead  of  giving  the  world  the  advantage  by  twenty-nine  years  by 
commencing  at  1492. 


64 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


When  the  advance  of  railways  makes  possible  a 
development  of  the  silver  mines  of  Arizona,  New 
Mexico,  and  the  Northern  States  of  Old  Mexico, 
it  is  fair  to  presume  the  silver  product  of  the  South¬ 
west  will  compare  still  more  favorably  with  that  of 
the  world. 

MINERAL  WEALTH  OF  THE  BORDER  STATES. 

There  is  an  abundance  of  testimony  to  prove 
that  the  richest  mines  of  the  republic  of  Mexico 
are  in  the  Northern  States  near  the  border;  and 
the  testimony  is  equally  abundant  showing  that  the 
portion  of  New  Spain  lying  within  the  United 
States,  and  just  north  of  the  Mexican  border,  ranks 
among  the  richest  in  silver  and  gold. 

Ward’s  official  report  to  the  British  Government, 
made  after  several  years’  residence  in  Mexico  as  His 
Majesty’s  Charge  cT Affaires,  is,  next  to  Humboldt’s 
work,  the  most  thorough  and  comprehensive  review 
of  the  resources  of  New  Spain,  which  has  ever 
been  published.  It  says  of  the  States  south  of  the 
border  line : 

“  The  States  of  Durango,  Sonora,  Chihuahua, 
and  Sinaloa,  contain  an  infinity  of  mines  hitherto 
but  little  known,  but  holding  out,  wherever  they 
have  been  tried,  a  promise  of  riches  superior  to 
anything  that  Mexico  has  yet  produced.”* 


*  Ward’s  “  Mexico  in  1827,”  i.  452. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


65 


Of  the  mines  north  of  the  border,  he  said : 

“  I  see  enough  in  these  records  of  Arizona  to 
warrant  the  supposition  (confirmed  as  it  is  by  the 
facts  and  appearances  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
pages)  that  the  hitherto  unexplored  regions  in 
the  North  of  Mexico  contain  mineral  treasures 
which,  as  discoveries  proceed,  are  likely  to  make 
the  future  produce  of  the  country  infinitely  ex¬ 
ceed  the  amount  that  has  been  hitherto  drawn 
from  the  comparatively  poorer  districts  of  the 
South.”  * 

The  report  of  the  Mexican  Committee  on  Mining 
Taxes,  made  in  1868,  says: 

“The  mineral  wealth  of  the  States  of  Durango, 
Sonora,  and  Chihuahua  is  greater  than  all  the  rest 
of  our  territory,  from  certain  indications :  and  it 
will  be  developed  as  soon  as  settlers  are  protected 
from  the  scalping-knives  of  the  savages.”  f 

Another  standard  authority  says  of  Sinaloa  : 

“  The  State  of  Sinaloa  is  said  to  be  literally  cov¬ 
ered  with  silver  mines.”  *  *  *  “  Scientific  ex¬ 

plorers,  who  visited  the  Sinaloa  mines  in  1872,  re¬ 
ported  that  those  on  the  Pacific  slopes  would  be 
the  great  source  of  supply  of  silver  for  the  next 
century.”  J 


*  Idem,  p.  460. 

f  “  Production  of  the  Precious  Metals,”  by  Blake,  p.  320* 
X  Paper  on  Mexico,  in  American  Cyclopaedia. 


66 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Dr.  Wislizenus,  in  his  work  on  Northern  Mex¬ 
ico,  testifies  that  “  the  silver  mines  of  the  State  of 
Chihuahua,  though  worked  for  centuries,  seem  to  be 
inexhaustible.  The  discovery  of  new  mines  is  but 
a  common  occurrence,  and,  attracted  by  them,  the 
mining  population  moves  generally  from  one  place 
to  another  without  exhausting  the  old  ones.”  *  *  * 
“  New  Mexico  seems  to  be  as  rich  in  gold  ore  as 
Chihuahua  is  in  silver;  but  yet  less  capital  and 
greater  insecurity  have  prevented  their  being 
worked  to  a  large  extent.”* 

J.  Ross  Browne,  who  was  the  first  United  States 
Commissioner  of  Mining  Statistics,  reported  in 
1868,  in  regard  to  the  States  immediately  south  of 
the  Pacific  border  line,  as  follows : 

“  Durango  is  very  rich  in  silver,  but  its  wealth 
was  not  known  until  just  before  the  revolution,  and 
there  has  been  comparatively  little  exploration 
since.  This  State,  like  Sonora  and  Chihuahua,  has 
suffered  severely  from  Apache  incursions.  The 
city  of  Durango,  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  miles 
northwest  of  Zacatecas,  had  only  eight  thousand 
inhabitants  in  1783;  but  in  that  year  Zambrano, 
the  great  miner  of  that  region,  discovered  the  mines 
of  Guarisamey,  and  Durango  soon  trebled  its  popu¬ 
lation.  In  twenty-four  years  he  extracted  $30,000- 
000  from  his  claims;  and  a  multitude  of  mines 


*  Dr.  Wislizenus’s  “  Tour  of  Northern  Mexico,”  p.  83. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD.  (>y 

were  opened,  so  that  the  average  yield  of  the  State 
was  estimated  to  be  $5,000,000.”  * 

Some  very  valuable  testimony  in  regard  to  the 
mineral  wealth  of  Santa  Eulalia,  in  the  State  of 
Chihuahua,  is  to  be  found  in  the  paper  read  before 
the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London,  in  1859, 
by  Charles  Sevin,  F.R.G.S.,  who  had  visited  Mexico 
to  see  “  how  far  the  mineral  wealth  of  these  regions 
can  be  worked  to  advantage  with  English  capital.” 
He  says  :  “  In  a  space  of  two  square  leagues  all  the 
mountains  of  Santa  Eulalia  contain  silver ;  more 
than  two  hundred  mines  have  been  worked  in  these 
confines,  and  upwards  of  fifty  of  them  have  been 
sunk  to  a  depth  of  two  hundred  yards.  Some  of 
these  are  so  extensive  that  one  whole  day  will  not 
suffice  to  see  the  different  parts  of  one  alone.  With 
regard  to  the  immense  amount  of  silver  extracted 
from  the  mines  of  Santa  Eulalia,  the  following 
statements  will  be  found  interesting.  At  the  most 
flourishing  time  a  contribution  was  raised  of  two 
grains  of  silver  from  every  marc  extracted,  for  the 
purpose  of  building  two  churches;  one  at  the  city 
of  Chihuahua,  the  other  at  Santa  Eulalia.  They 
were  built  in  a  few  years.  The  cost  of  that  of 
Chihuahua  was  $600,000,  of  that  of  Santa  Eulalia 
$150,000;  and  a  surplus  of  $150,000  of  the  money 


*  “  Resources  of  the  Pacific  States,"  p.  648 


68 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


collected  in  this  manner  remained.  The  result  of 
the  contribution  therefore  amounted  to  $900,000, 
which  corresponds  to  an  amount  of  145,000  marcs 
of  silver,  worth  at  the  real  value  of  that  metal  $145,- 
000,000,  extracted  from  the  mines  of  Santa  Eulalia 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years.  It  cannot  be  sup¬ 
posed  that  the  produce  of  these  mines,  rich  as  they 
were  up  to  the  last  operations,  suddenly  stopped 
by  the  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards,  should  have  re¬ 
tained  the  same  ratio  at  all  periods.  However,  the 
whole  amount  of  silver  which  they  have  yielded, 
though  it  is  to  be  divided  over  a  number  of  about 
one  hundred  and  thirty  years,  will  be  found  very 
great.  In  the  year  1833,  a  census  of  this  whole 
amount  was  made,  and  it  was  found  to  have  been 
43,000,000  marcs  of  silver,  or  $430,000,000.”* 

Wilson,  the  historian  of  Mexico,  in  one  of  his 
three  works  on  Mexico,  says:  “We  have  the  fol¬ 
lowing  record  in  evidence  of  the  masses  of  silver 
extracted  at  Arazuma.  Don  Domingo  Asmendi 
paid  duties  on  a  piece  of  virgin  silver  which 
weighed  275  lbs.  The  king’s  attorney  (fiscal) 
brought  suit  for  the  duties  on  several  other  pieces, 
which  together  weighed  4,033  lbs.  Also  for  the  re¬ 
covery,  as  a  curiosity,  and  therefore  the  property 
of  the  king,  of  a  certain  piece  of  silver  of  the  weight 


*  Journal  of  Royal  Geographical  Society  for  1S60,  p.  33. 


ITS  WEAL  TH  IN  S/L  VER  AND  GOLD  69 

of  2,700  lbs.  This  is  probably  the  largest  piece  of 
pure  silver  ever  found  in  the  world.”* * * § 

Arazuma,  above  alluded  to,  is  in  the  present  Ter¬ 
ritory  of  Arizona,  and  probably  in  the  southern 
portion,  which  was  part  of  the  Gadsden  purchase 
of  1853. 

Ward,  the  British  minister  to  Mexico,  says  in 
his  report  that  he  saw  the  correspondence  in  re¬ 
gard  to  those  masses  of  virgin  silver,  that  he  ob¬ 
tained  a  certified  copy  of  the  decree,  and  that  its 
authenticity  was  unquestionable.  He  does  not  ac¬ 
cept  the  whole  of  the  facts  recorded  as  correct. 
Nevertheless,  the  record  satisfied  him  that  the 
silver  mines  of  Arizona  were  richer  than  those 
farther  south. f 

Baron  Humboldt  says  that  native  silver  “  has 
been  found  in  considerable  masses,  sometimes 
weighing  more  than  two  hundred  kilogrammes,^: 
in  the  seams  of  Batopilas,  in  New  Biscay.”  § 

New  Biscay  was  the  same  as  the  former  inten¬ 
dancy  of  Durango,  which  embraced  what  are  now 
the  border  States  of  Durango  and  Chihuahua. 
Batopilas  is  in  Chihuahua. || 

A  recent  authority  on  Arizona  gives  the  follow- 

*  “  Mexico  and  Its  Religion,”  by  R.  A.  Wilson,  p.  387. 

t  Ward’s  “Mexico  in  1827,”  ii.  137. 

\  Four  hundred  and  forty-four  lbs.  (avoirdupois). 

§  Humboldt’s  “New  Spain,”  iii.  157. 

J  Idem,  ii.  237. 


7  o 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


ing  significant  facts  and  figures  in  regard  to  the 
great  mineral  wealth  of  that  territory : 

The  number  of  “  mines  located  and  recorded  in 
the  Territory,  which  was  obtained  from  the  county 
registers  of  each  county,  excepting  the  County  of  Mo¬ 
have,  which  is  given  much  below  the  actual  number, 
was,  on  the  first  day  of  October,  1876,  as  follows: 


Yavapai  County .  7, 298 

Pima  County .  975 

Maricopa  County. .  200 

Yuma  County. . .  580 

Pinal  County .  552 

Mohave  County .  2,000 

Total .  11,605”* 


Prof.  Raymond,  the  United  States  Commis¬ 
sioner,  says,  in  his  official  report  for  1869,  of  an¬ 
other  border  State:  “Indications  of  placer  gold 
are  very  general  all  over  New  Mexico;  and  I  be¬ 
lieve  that  with  the  introduction  of  hydraulics  this 
interest  will  become  a  very  prominent  one  in  the 
future.”  *  *  *  “  Whenever  railroads  shall 

traverse  this  country  its  mines  will  be  of  great 
value,  as  they  will  possess  then  every  facility  for 
successful  working. ”f 

*  “Arizona  as  It  Is  ;  or,  The  Coming  Country,”  by  H.  C.  Hodge, 
P*  135. 

f  See  Report  for  1869,  pp.  408  and  414. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


71 


Such  is  the  testimony  of  the  leading  writers  on 
the  wealth  of  the  border  States.  We  might  add 
almost  a  volume  more  to  the  same  effect.  But 
enough  has  been  cited  on  this  point  to  satisfy  the 
most  skeptical,  and  we  will  now  consider  why  these 
remarkable  mines  are  not  adding  their  stores  of 
wealth  to  the  world’s  supply  of  precious  metals. 

PRESENT  CONDITION  AND  WANTS  OF  THE  MINING 

INDUSTRY. 

Those  portions  of  New  Spain,  such  as  California 
and  Nevada,  which  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to 
receive  a  thrifty  American  civilization,  the  aid  of 
railways,  and  a  partial  development  of  their  re¬ 
sources,  are  adding  each  year  large  contributions  to 
the  world’s  supply  of  silver  and  gold,  and  are  fur¬ 
nishing  work  and  good  pay  to  the  laboring  classes. 
Old  Mexico,  another  portion  of  New  Spain,  suffers 
for  want  of  better  government  and  a  better  civil¬ 
ization.  Nevertheless,  the  interior  of  that  republic 
is  producing  each  year  large  sums  of  silver.  The 
annual  yield  of  Mexico,  as  a  whole,  is  now  nearly 
as  large  as  during  the  best  days  of  Spanish  rule; 
but  still  it  is  not  half  what  it  should  be.  It  is  the 
centre  of  New  Spain,  or  the  rich  border  States, 
where  the  mining  industry  is  prostrate.  Anarchy, 
Indian  raids,  and  lack  of  railroads  south  of  the 


72 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


line,  and  Apache  raids  and  lack  of  transportation 
north  of  the  line,  have  well-nigh  ruined  this  mag¬ 
nificent  border  country.  Its  development  has  never 
recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  check  it  received 
at  the  time  Mexico  entered  into  the  struggle  to 
throw  off  Spanish  authority  in  1810. 

The  contrast  between  the  former  flourishing  con¬ 
dition  of  the  Santa  Eulalia  mines,  which  are  above 
described,  and  their  present  prostration  is  well 
described  by  Sevin,  who  said  in  1859  :  “  Since  the 
interruption  of  the  regular  mining  operations  in 
1833,  the  inhabitants  of  Santa  Eulalia  have  never¬ 
theless  almost  entirely  existed  upon  the  produce 
of  the  unscientific  and  disconnected  operations 
which  are  carried  on  in  nearly  all  the  abandoned 
mines  of  this  country.  In  this  manner  these  mines 
have  continued  to  support  a  population  of  one 
thousand  five  hundred  souls  in  this  little  town,  and 
have  contributed  also  to  the  maintenance  of  a  sur¬ 
rounding  scattered  population,  which  supplies  the 
miners  with  wood,  coal,  provisions,  etc.”*  In  the 
palmy  days  of  the  mining  industry  under  the 
Spanish,  the  city  of  Chihuahua  had  a  population  of 
over  seventy  thousand  inhabitants.  Now  it  has 
but  twelve  thousand. f 

The  United  States  consul  at  Guaymas,  in  a  com- 


*  Journal  of  Royal  Geographical  Society  for  i860,  p.  33. 
f  Paper  on  Chihuahua  in  American  Cyclopaedia. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD. 


7  3 


munication  to  the  State  Department  in  1873,  said 
of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Sonora:  “  The  Indian 
plague  of  Apache  raids  from  Arizona  still  con¬ 
tinues,  and  during  the  first  quarter  of  the  year  was 
particularly  severe.  In  that  time  one  hundred  and 
fifty  persons — men,  women,  and  children,  Mexi¬ 
cans — were  killed.”*  Wilson  said  about  1851,  of 
this  same  border  State  :  “  The  capitalists  of  Mexico 
will  not  invest  their  means  in  developing  the  re¬ 
sources  of  Sonora,  and  in  consequence  the  finest 
country  in  the  world  is  fast  receding  to  a  state  of 
nature.”  f 

Just  before  the  late  civil  war  in  the  United  States 
a  large  amount  of  capital  was  attracted  by  the  min¬ 
ing  industry  of  Arizona,  and  an  effort  was  made  to 
develop  its  great  silver  mines.  Costly  machinery 
was  taken  over  the  plains,  and  operations  were 
fairly  under  way  when  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
caused  the  Government  troops  to  be  recalled  from 
the  Territory,  and  the  Apache  Indians  and  Mex¬ 
icans  immediately  improved  the  opportunity  to 
make  havoc  of  the  costly  works  at  the  mines.  Soon 
after  this,  in  the  year  1863,  J.  Ross  Browne  visited 
Arizona,  and  he  says  of  the  rich  Heintzelman  mine 
which  we  have  described  above  :  “  At  the  time  of  our 

*  See  Report  for  1873  on  “  Commercial  Relations  of  the  United 
States  with  Foreign  Countries,”  p.  831. 

f  “  Mexico  and  its  Religion,”  p.  388. 

4 


74 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


visit  it  was  silent  and  desolate,  a  picture  of  utter 
abandonment.  The  adobe  houses  were  fast  falling 
into  ruins ;  the  engines  were  no  longer  at  work ; 
the  rich  piles  of  ore  lying  in  front  of  the  shafts  had 
been  sacked  and  robbed  by  marauding  Mexicans  ; 
nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  wreck  and  ruin.”  * 

The  disturbed  condition  of  the  border  States 
during  the  past  few  years  is  too  fresh  in  the  minds 
of  the  reader  to  need  recital  here.  Until  anarchy 
is  supplanted  by  good  government  no  adequate 
development  may  be  expected.  But  north  of  the 
border,  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  during  the 
past  few  years,  the  danger  from  Apache  raids  has 
not  been  as  great  as  it  was  during  the  late  civil  war. 
And  regardless  of  the  fact  that  facilities  for  trans¬ 
portation  are  very  incomplete,  some  little  progress 
has  been  made  in  the  mining  industry.  The  report 
of  the  Mining  Commissioner  for  1874  says  of  Ari¬ 
zona  :  From  the  southern  portion  of  this  Territory 
have  come  frequent  reports  during  the  year  just 
past  of  the  revival  of  a  once  flourishing  mining  in¬ 
dustry,  which  had,  however,  for  years  been  actually 
wiped  out  of  existence  by  the  Apache  Indians.”  f 
The  report  of  the  United  States  Mining  Commis¬ 
sioner  for  1875  contains  a  review  of  the  mining  in¬ 
dustry  of  Arizona,  which  says  :  “  The  past  year  has 


*  “  Adventures  in  the  Apache  Country,”  by  J.  Ross  Browne,  p.  266. 
f  See  Report  for  1874,  p.  389. 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD . 


7  5 


witnessed  an  increased  attention  to  mining  and  the 
investment  of  some  new  capital  ;  but  the  distances 
both  from  the  Pacific  and  the  Atlantic  States  are 
such,  and  many  of  the  roads  to  the  mineral  districts 
are  so  heavy,  or  rough,  that  no  expeditions  and 
economical  movement  of  ores,  machinery,  or  miners, 
no  working  or  shipment  of  low-grade  ores,  and 
no  influx  of  capital  (even  from  California)  can  be 
looked  for,  and  consequently  no  extensive  or  very 
important  operations  can  be  carried  on  until,  at 
least,  a  trunk  railroad  crosses  the  Territory.”  * 
Regardless  of  the  overwhelming  testimony  prov¬ 
ing  the  great  mineral  wealth  of  Arizona,  New  Mex¬ 
ico,  Chihuahua,  Durango,  and  Sinaloa,  and  of  the 
fact  that  there  are  some  indications  of  a  new  devel¬ 
opment  north  of  the  border,  the  late  annual  re¬ 
ports  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  fail  to 
show  very  large  products  in  New  Mexico  and  Ari¬ 
zona.  The  mines  are  stagnant  at  a  time  when  the 
science  of  mining  has  become  almost  perfect,  when 
every  facility,  in  the  shape  of  improved  and  effec¬ 
tive  machinery,  is  awaiting  the  assistance  of  capital. 
There  is  but  one  remedy  for  the  present  lack  of 
progress,  and  that  is,  suitable  transportation  for 
troops,  for  mining  machinery,  and  for  the  advance 
of  a  thrifty  civilization. 


*  See  Report  for  1S75,  p.  341. 


76 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


THE  FUTURE  PRODUCTS  OF  SILVER  AND  GOLD 
OF  THE  SOUTHWEST. 

Great  as  were  the  treasures  which  the  Spanish 
unlocked  from  the  mines,  they  did  little  more,  say 
the  standard  authorities,  than  work  the  surface 
ores.  When  the  mine  became  too  deep  and  the 
labor  difficult  they  abandoned  it  and  moved  else¬ 
where,  to  repeat  at  some  other  mine  the  same  super¬ 
ficial  process.  Still  less  thorough  was  the  working 
of  the  mines  by  the  Mexicans  after  they  declared 
their  independence  from  Spain.  But  one  portion 
of  New  Spain  has  received  the  blessings  of  a  pro¬ 
gressive  civilization,  and  the  wonderful  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  mines  of  California  and  Nevada,  since 
they  became  a  part  of  the  United  States  in  1848, 
is  an  indication  of  what  we  may  expect  as  the 
future  products  of  the  whole  Southwest.  Califor¬ 
nia  alone,  from  1848  to  1876,  produced  more  pre¬ 
cious  metals  than  the  whole  republic  of  Mexico,  or 
$1,064,628,502  against  Mexico’s  $702,000,000.  The 
wonderful  progress  of  this  State  with  an  energetic 
people  is  a  fair  illustration  of  the  possibilities  of 
Mexico  with  the  same  aids  to  advancement.  Se- 
vin,  who  visited  Mexico  in  1856,  and,  as  we  have 
above  stated,  reported  his  observations  to  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society  in  1859,  said:  “It  is 
generally  known  and  admitted  that  the  mineral 


ITS  WEALTH  IN  SILVER  AND  GOLD . 


77 


wealth  of  the  country  hitherto  explored  is  but  a 
drop  in  the  ocean  compared  with  the  virgin  mines 
which  exist  in  every  direction,  only  wanting  capital 
and  enterprise  for  their  development.”  *  Baron 
Humboldt  expressed  a  similar  opinion  at  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  the  present  century,  and  at  a  time 
when  the  annual  product  of  silver  and  gold  of 
New  Spain  averaged  about  $26,959,357.  He  said: 
“The  opinion  that  New  Spain  produces  only,  per¬ 
haps,  the  third  part  of  the  precious  metals  which  it 
could  supply  under  happier  political  circumstances, 
has  been  long  entertained  by  all  the  intelligent  per¬ 
sons  who  inhabit  the  principal  districts  of  mines  of 
that  country,  and  is  formally  announced  in  a  me¬ 
moir  presented  by  the  deputies  of  the  body  of 
miners  to  the  king  in  1774,  a  production  drawn  up 
with  great  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  local  circum¬ 
stances.”  f 

Not  only  has  nature  been  very  liberal  in  the  min¬ 
eral  endowment  of  New  Spain,  but  she  has  stored 
the  vast  quantities  of  silver  and  gold  in  accessible 
places.  Humboldt  says:  u  A  remarkable  advan¬ 
tage  for  the  progress  of  national  industry  arises 
from  the  height  at  which  nature  in  New  Spain  has 
deposited  the  precious  metals.  In  Peru  the  most 
considerable  mines,  those  of  Potosi,  Pasco,  and 

*  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  for  1S60,  p.  52* 

f  Humboldt’s  “New  Spain,”  iii.  334>  335- 


73 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Chota,  are  immensely  elevated  near  the  region  of 
perpetual  snow.’*  *  The  table-lands  of  Mexico, 
which  are  the  principal  depositories  of  the  trea¬ 
sures,  possess  a  mild  climate,  which  does  not  in¬ 
terfere  with  agreeable  and  successful  work.  One 
thing,  however,  is  wanting,  and  that  is,  develop¬ 
ment.  When  the  whole  of  New  Spain  receives  that 
blessing,  we  may  expect  the  Southwest  will  not 
only  continue  to  surpass  the  rest  of  the  world  com¬ 
bined,  but  even  eclipse  its  own  brilliant  record  in 
the  production  of  silver. 


*  Humboldt,  i.  70,  71, 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


79 


CHAPTER  III. 

OTHER  WEALTH  THAN  SILVER  AND 

GOLD. 

Of  one  portion  of  New  Spain,  Daniel  Webster 
said  in  the  United  States  Senate  in  1850:  “I  am 
sure  that  everybody  has  become  satisfied  that  al¬ 
though  California  may  have  a  very  great  seaboard, 
and  a  large  city  or  two,  yet  that  the  agricultural 
products  of  the  whole  surface  now  are  not,  and 
never  will  be,  equal  to  one-half  part  of  those  of  the 
State  of  Illinois  ;  no,  nor  yet  a  fourth,  or  perhaps  a 
tenth  part.”  * 

Yet  with  a  partial  development  of  its  agriculture 
the  wheat  crop  of  California  in  1875  exceeded  in 
value  that  of  Illinois  and  every  other  State  of  the 
Union  ;  its  product  of  barley  was  in  value  four 
times  that  of  Illinois,  and  greater  than  that  of  every 
other  State ;  its  wool  product  was  in  value  nearly 
double  that  of  Illinois,  and  greater  than  the  yield 
of  every  other  State  except  Ohio  ;  its  wheat  pro¬ 
duct  was  more  than  ten  million  dollars  in  excess  of 


*  See  Speech  on  Public  Lands,  etc.,  of  California,  in  vol.  v.  of  his 
works,  p.  398. 


8o 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


its  gold  product ;  and  in  1876  its  wheat  crop  was  in 
value  over  twelve  million  dollars  in  excess  of  the 
wheat  crop  of  Illinois. 

Texas,  another  portion  of  New  Spain,  although 
comparatively  undeveloped,  produced  in  1875  corn 
exceeding  in  value  the  corn  products  of  all  the 
New  England  States  and  New  York  combined  ;  its 
wheat  crop,  in  1876,  was  worth  over  five  million 
dollars,  and  as  it  has  nearly  doubled  each  year  since 
1874,  its  value  in  the  future,  when  Western  Texas 
is  developed,  will  be  doubled  many  times  more  ;  its 
cotton  crop,  in  1876,  was  equal  to  half  the  amount 
consumed  in  the  whole  United  States,  and  greater 
in  value  than  the  gold  product  of  California. 

Those  who  under-estimate  the  agricultural  ca¬ 
pacity  of  other  parts  of  the  Southwest,  and  who 
think  that  silver  and  gold  comprise  the  sum  total 
of  its  riches,  have  only  to  await  the  advance  of 
railways,  and  a  suitable  development  of  New  and 
Old  Mexico  and  Arizona  for  further  surprises  and 
statistical  proof  of  their  delusion. 

Those  keen  observers  of  nature — the  civilized 
native  races — selected  the  table-lands  of  Mexico  as 
their  favorite  part  of  North  America  for  founding 
an  empire.  They  were  entirely  dependent  upon  the 
resources  of  their  own  land  for  the  necessities  of 
life,  and  could  not  have  maintained  for  several  cen¬ 
turies  a  civilization  celebrated  for  luxury  unless  the 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


8l 


agricultural  capacities  were  equal  to  their  require¬ 
ments.  Nor  could  the  table-lands  of  New  Mex¬ 
ico  and  Arizona  have  supported  the  numerous 
cities  and  dense  population  of  their  semi-civilized 
inhabitants  unless  the  products  of  the  soil  were 
great. 

But  surprising  assertions  should  be  sustained  by 
ample  authorities,  and  we  will  briefly  cite  some  of 
the  facts  from  the  official  reports  of  the  United 
States  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  and  other  re¬ 
liable  sources. 


WHEAT. 

In  speaking  of  the  table-land  in  Mexico,  extend¬ 
ing  from  Queretaro  to  Leon,  Baron  Humboldt  said, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century:  “The 
wheat  harvest  is  thirty-five  and  forty  for  one,  and 
several  great  farms  can  reckon  fifty  or  sixty  to  one.” 
*  *  *  “At  Cholula,  the  common  harvest  is  from 
thirty  to  forty,  but  it  frequently  exceeds  from 
seventy  to  eighty  for  one.  In  the  valley  of  Mex¬ 
ico,  the  maize  yields  two  hundred,  and  the  wheat 
eighteen  or  twenty.  I  have  to  observe  that  the 
numbers  which  I  here  give  have  all  the  accuracy 
which  can  be  desired  in  so  important  an  object  for 
the  knowledge  of  territorial  riches.  Being  eagerly 
desirous  of  knowing  the  produce  of  agriculture 
under  the  tropics,  I  procured  all  the  information  on 
4* 


82 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


the  very  spots ;  and  I  compared  together  the  data 
which  I  was  furnished  by  intelligent  colonists  who 
inhabited  provinces  at  a  distance  from  one  another. 
I  was  induced  to  be  so  much  the  more  precise  in 
this  operation,  as,  from  having  been  born  in  a  coun¬ 
try  where  grain  scarcely  produces  four  or  five  for 
one,  I  was  naturally  more  apt,  than  another,  to  be 
disposed  to  suspect  the  exaggerations  of  agricultur¬ 
ists.”  *  Of  another  part  of  Mexico  he  said  :  “  Near 
Zelaya,  the  agriculturists  showed  me  the  enormous 
difference  of  produce  between  the  lands  artificially 
watered  and  those  which  are  not.  The  former, 
which  receive  the  water  of  the  Rio  Grande,  distrib¬ 
uted  by  drains  into  several  pools,  yield  from  forty 
to  fifty  for  one  ;  while  the  latter,  which  do  not  en¬ 
joy  the  benefit  of  irrigation,  only  yield  fifteen  or 
twenty.”  f  California  was  then  a  part  of  the  king¬ 
dom  of  New  Spain,  and  Humboldt  includes  it  in 
his  investigations.  He  said  :  “  In  the  northern 

extremity  of  the  kingdom,  on  the  coast  of  New 
California,  the  produce  of  wheat  is  from  sixteen  to 
seventeen  for  one,  taking  the  mean  term  among  the 
harvests  of  eighteen  villages  for  two  years.  I  be¬ 
lieve  that  agriculturists  will  peruse  with  pleasure 
the  detail  of  these  harvests  in  a  country  situated 
under  the  same  parallel  as  Algiers,  Tunis,  and  Pal- 

*  Humboldt’s  “  New  Spain,”  ii.  413  and  414. 

f  Idem,  p.  415. 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


83 


estine,  between  320  39'  and  3 70  48'  of  latitude.’’  * 
After  setting  forth  in  detail  the  wheat-growing 
capacity  of  New  Spain,  he  contrasts  the  statistics 
with  those  of  other  nations  as  follows:  “We  shall 
collect  into  one  table  the  knowledge  which  we  have 
acquired  as  to  the  mean  produce  of  the  cerealia  in 
the  two  continents.  We  are  not  here  adducing 
examples  of  an  extraordinary  fertility  observable 
in  a  small  extent  of  ground.”  *  *  *  “  But  in 

treating  of  agriculture  in  general,  we  speak  merely 
of  extensive  results,  of  calculations  in  which  the 
total  harvest  of  a  country  is  considered  as  the  mul¬ 
tiple  of  the  quantity  of  wheat  sown.  It  will  be 
found  that  this  multiple,  which  may  be  considered 
as  one  of  the  first  elements  of  the  prosperity  of 
nations,  varies  in  the  following  manner :  five  to 
six  grains  for  one  in  France,  according  to  Lavoisier 
and  Neckar.”  *  *  *  “  This  is  also  the  mean 

produce  in  the  North  of  Germany,  Poland,  and,  ac¬ 
cording  toM.  Riihs,  in  Sweden.”  *  *  *  “  Eight 

to  ten  grains  for  one  in  Hungary,  Croatia,  and 
Sclavonia,  according  to  the  researches  of  M.  Swart- 
ner.”  *  *  'x*  “  Seventeen  grains  for  one  in  the 

northern  part  of  Mexico.”  *  *  *  “  Twenty- 

four  grains  for  one  in  the  equinoctial  region  of 
Mexico.”  f 


*  Idem,  p.  419. 


f  Idem,  pp.  427-428. 


84 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


He  says  of  the  quality  :  “  The  Mexican  wheat  is 
of  the  very  best  quality  ;  and  it  may  be  compared 
with  the  finest  Andalusian  grain  *  *  *  “  In 

Mexico  the  grain  is  very  large,  very  white,  and  very 
nutritive,  especially  in  farms  where  watering  is  em¬ 
ployed.”  * 

A  recent  writer  on  California,  since  it  was  sepa¬ 
rated  from  Mexico  in  1848,  says:  “  I  was  shown  in 
one  field  a  unique  sight,  a  ‘  volunteer  crop  ’  of 
wheat  which  had  sprung  of  itself  in  a  field  unbroken 
and  uncultivated  from  last  year’s  scattered  seeds,  so 
rich  that  it  would  probably  average  forty  to  forty- 
five  bushels  to  the  acre.”  f 

The  wheat  record  of  California  and  Texas,  for 
the  past  five  years,  tends  to  show  how  reliable  and 
close  an  observer  of  the  agricultural  capacity  of  the 
great  Southwest  was  Baron  Humboldt.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  tables  show  the  respective  rank  of  the  five 
leading  wheat  States  during  each  of  the  past  five 
years.  The  estimates  are  compiled  from  the  an¬ 
nual  reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  : 

1872. 

1.  Illinois .  $30,394,530 

2.  California .  28,416,000 

3.  Ohio .  25,848,260 


*  Idem,  p.  434. 

f  “The  New  West,”  by  C.  L.  Brace,  p.  232. 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


4.  Indiana . 

..  $25,582,920 

5.  Wisconsin. . . . 

1873- 

1.  Illinois . 

2.  California  . . . . 

..  28,385,280 

3.  Iowa . 

. .  27,334,000 

4.  Wisconsin  . . . . 

...  25,532,340 

5.  Indiana . 

..  25,415,040 

1874. 

1.  California _ 

2.  Ohio . 

. .  27,032,720 

3.  Illinois . 

..  25,904,920 

4.  Iowa . 

5.  Indiana . 

..  21,931,140 

1875. 

1.  California . 

2.  Illinois . 

. .  24,843,000 

3.  Minnesota. . . . 

...  23,392,000 

4.  Wisconsin  . . . 

5.  Iowa . 

1876. 

1.  California _ _ 

2.  Ohio . 

..  24,795,000 

3.  Pennsylvania 

4.  Illinois  . . 

..  21,799,200 

5.  Indiana . 

. .  20,400,000 

86 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


The  comparison  shows  that  California  has  been 
ahead  since  1873.  No  other  State  of  the  Union 
is  likely  to  dispute  her  leading  position  unless  it  be 
Texas.  That  State  entered  the  race  for  wheat 
supremacy  at  a  late  day,  but  her  remarkable  capa¬ 
city  for  doubling  her  product  each  year  is  not  likely 
to  end  until  she  gets  near  the  head. 

The  following  table  shows  the  value  of  the 
wheat  crop  of  Texas  for  each  of  the  past  three 
years :  * 


1874  . $1,989,900 

1875  .  3,187,700 

1876  .  5,130,000 


A  commercial  writer  of  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
attracted  by  the  remarkable  wheat-growing  capacity 
of  California,  has  recently  indulged  in  some  specu¬ 
lations  in  regard  to  “  the  shifting  of  the  wheat- 
producing  belt  and  its  commercial  significance.” 
After  reviewing  the  great  crops  of  California,  the 
increased  yield  per  acre  by  the  aid  of  irrigation, 
the  certainty  of  the  crop  owing  to  the  absence  of 
rain  during  harvest-time,  the  uncertainty  of  the 
crop  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  States  because  of 
rain  in  harvest-time,  he  draws  the  following  conclu¬ 
sion  in  regard  to  certain  States,  which  the  reader 


*  These  estimates  are  also  from  annual  reports  of  the  United 
States  Commissioner  of  Agriculture. 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


87 


will  observe  constitute  nearly  the  same  country 
which  we  have  defined  to  be  New  Spain,  or  the 
Southwest,  viz. : 

“  In  view  of  these  things,  does  it  not  appear  cer¬ 
tain,  as  the  State  of  California  settles  up,  and  as 
railway  facilities  are  extended  to  Colorado,  New 
Mexico,  Old  Mexico,  Utah,  Arizona,  Nevada,  and 
Western  Texas,  the  vast  belts  of  country  inflicted 
with  ‘dry’  seasons,  but  just  as  capable  to  produce 
wheat,  by  irrigation,  as  California,  does  not  it  ap¬ 
pear  certain,  we  again  ask,  that  the  surplus  wheat 
of  the  world  will  ultimately  be  grown  within  this 
wonderful  area  ?  ”  * 


COTTON. 

The  production  of  cotton  is  not  a  new  element 
of  wealth  in  the  Southwest,  but  is  the  revival  of  an 
industry  which  flourished  under  the  civilized  native 
races  long  before  America  was  known  to  Europeans. 
All  historians  agree  in  regard  to  the  extensive  use 
of  cotton  by  the  Aztecs  ;  and  what  they  manufac¬ 
tured  they  undoubtedly  produced,  for  they  had 
little  intercourse  with  the  outside  world.  The  his¬ 
torian  of  the  “  Conquest  of  Mexico,”  in  describing 
the  first  presents  from  Montezuma  to  Cortez,  men¬ 
tions,  as  one  item,  “  ten  loads  of  fine  cottons. ”f 


*  Commercial  editorial  of  St.  Louis  Republican ,  December  4,  1876. 
f  Prescott’s  “Conquest  of  Mexico,”  i.  302. 


88 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Of  another  embassy,  from  Montezuma  to  Cortez, 
he  states  that  slaves  brought  as  presents  “  curtains, 
coverlets,  and  robes  of  cotton,  fine  as  silk,  of  rich 
and  various  dyes,  interwoven  with  feather-work 
that  rivaled  the  delicacy  of  painting.  There  were 
thirty  loads  of  cotton  cloth  in  addition.”*  Another 
leading  historian  of  Mexico  says :  “  Cotton  was 
among  the  indigenous  products  of  Mexico  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest ;  and  the  early  adventurers 
not  only  found  it  to  constitute  the  common  vesture 
of  the  masses  of  the  people,  but  also  that  the  most 
delicate  and  luxurious  articles  of  dress  were  made 
of  it.  The  Aztecs  possessed  the  art  of  spinning  it 
to  an  extreme  degree  of  fineness,  and  of  imparting 
to  it  the  beautiful  and  brilliant  dyes  for  which  they 
were  celebrated ;  but  both  those  mysteries  were  en¬ 
tirely  lost  in  the  general  destruction  of  aboriginal 
arts  and  records  by  the  Spaniards.  Notwithstand¬ 
ing  the  natural  anxiety  of  Spain  to  furnish  her 
colonists  with  her  manufactures,  she  could  never 
prevent  the  people  from  weaving  and  wearing  this 
spontaneous  product  of  their  soil.f  These  facts 
indicate  very  clearly  that  Mexico  was,  before  the 
days  of  Spanish  rule,  an  extensive  producer  of 
cotton.  Mexico  of  the  present  day  produces  some 
cotton,  manufactures  quite  extensively,  and  imports 


*  Idem,  p.  320. 

f  “  Mexico  :  Aztec,  Spanish,  and  Republican,”  by  B.  Mayer,  ii.  67. 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


39 


largely.  Mayer  says  that  “  in  1843  there  were  53 
cotton  factories  in  the  republic,  with  a  total  of 
131,280  spindles;  and  it  was  estimated  that,  look¬ 
ing  to  Mexico  alone  for  the  supply,  there  would  be 
an  annual  deficiency  of  a  large  quantity  of  the  raw 
material.  This  calculation,  it  must  be  remembered, 
does  not  include  the  consumption  of  cotton  by 
hand-looms,  an  immense  number  of  which  are  in 
constant  use  through  the  republic.”*  About  fif¬ 
teen  years  later  the  investment  of  capital  in  build¬ 
ings  and  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
was,  according  to  Butterfield,  $7,372,95  i.f  The 
annual  consumption  of  cotton  by  the  factories  of 
the  three  States  of  Mexico,  Puebla,  and  Queretaro 
was  stated,  in  the  official  report  of  the  United 
States  Consul-General  for  1874,  to  be  11,276,000 
pounds.;}: 

But  Mexico  consumes  more  cotton  than  she  man¬ 
ufactures  or  produces,  as  the  record  of  imports  in 
a  subsequent  chapter  will  show.  Her  largest  trade  is 
with  England,  and  the  largest  item  of  imports  is 
invariably  cotton.  Of  her  total  imports,  from  all 
countries,  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30th,  1873, 
which  total  was,  in  value,  $29,062,406,  over  one- 


*  Mayer’s  “  Mexico,”  ii.  68. 

f  “  United  States  and  Mexican  Mail  Steamship  Line,”  by  Carlos 
Butterfield. 

\  “  Annual  Report  on  Commercial  Relations,”  p.  831. 


90 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


third,  or  $10,531,970,  was  in  “cotton  stuffs.” 
About  the  adaptability  of  Mexico  to  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  cotton  there  is  no  question  ;  but  her  mod¬ 
ern  development  is  delayed.  Another  portion  of 
New  Spain,  however,  is  producing  enough  cotton 
to  supply  the  demand  of  the  whole  Southwest. 
Texas,  in  1870,  was  the  fifth  State  of  the  Union  in 
the  number  of  bales  produced,  which  were  350,628. 
In  1876  the  product  was  690,000  bales.*  That 
product  placed  Texas  second  in  rank  among  the 
great  cotton-producing  States,  Mississippi  being 
the  only  State  yielding  a  larger  crop.  If  we  re¬ 
duce  the  product  to  pounds,  by  calling  the  average 
440  pounds  to  the  bale,  the  result  is  303,600,000 
pounds  ;  and  estimating  the  value  of  each  pound 
at  eleven  cents  (which  is  the  average  value  of  the 
cotton  of  the  whole  United  States  for  1876,  as 
given  by  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Agri¬ 
culture, f  we  have,  as  the  total  value  of  the  crop, 
$33,396,000.  In  other  words,  Texas,  in  1876,  pro¬ 
duced  cotton  nearly  double  in  value  the  gold  pro¬ 
duct  of  California  in  1875.  This  cotton  crop  was 
grown  upon  1,483,500  acres.  As  Texas  possesses 
in  all  175,587,840  acres  of  land,  there  seems  to  be 
almost  no  limit  to  the  cotton  capacity  of  this  great 
and  fertile  State.  The  cotton  consumption  of  the 


*  See  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  for  1876. 
f  Idem. 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


91 


whole  United  States  for  1876  is  estimated  by  Ed¬ 
ward  Atkinson  to  be  600,000,000  pounds.*  There¬ 
fore  Texas  produced  last  year  fully  one-half  of  the 
amount  of  cotton  consumed  in  the  whole  United 
States. 

INDIAN  CORN. 

The  British  minister  wrote  of  Mexico,  in  1827: 
“  There  are  few  parts  either  of  the  Tierra  Caliente 
or  of  the  table-land  in  which  maize  is  not  cultivated 
with  success.  In  the  low  hot  grounds  upon  the 
coast,  and  on  the  slope  of  the  Cordillera,  its  growth 
is  more  colossal  than  on  the  table-land  ;  but  even 
there,  at  seven  and  eight  thousand  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  its  fecundity  is  such  as  will  hardly 
be  credited  in  Europe.”  f  About  twenty  years 
later  the  American  historian  of  Mexico  said  :  “  The 
present  corn  production  of  Mexico  is  not  accurately 
determined,  but  it  is  estimated  that  it  is  the  chief 
subsistence  of  at  least  five  million  persons,  whilst  it 
supplies  the  only  fodder  for  all  kinds  of  domestic 
animals.  Its  average  product  must,  therefore,  be 
not  far  from  at  least  twenty  million  bushels.”  ^ 
Since  1827  Texas  declared  her  independence  ;  and 
since  the  other  review  of  Mexico  was  written  she 

*  See  his  article  in  New  York  Herald ,  April  24,  1877. 

f  Ward's  “  Mexico  in  1827,”  i.  42. 

\  Mayer’s  History  of  Mexico,  ii.  55. 


92 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


has  made  a  partial  development  of  her  agricultural 
capacity.  We  will  take  her  corn  product  of  1875  as 
perhaps  a  fair  illustration  of  what  the  capacity  of 
New  Spain  was  as  a  whole.  According  to  the  Re¬ 
port  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Agricul¬ 
ture,  Texas,  in  1875,  produced  31,000,000  bushels 
of  corn,  the  value  of  which  was  estimated  to  be 
$25,730,000,  or  $8,000,000  larger  than  the  value  of 
the  gold  product  of  California  for  the  same  year. 
As  corn  has  always  been  one  of  the  staple  products 
of  New  England,  a  comparison  of  the  products 
may  not  be  uninteresting.  We  take  the  number  of 
bushels,  and  the  estimated  values  for  the  same  year 
from  the  same  official  report,  viz. : 


No.  of  Bushels. 


Maine .  1,300,000 

New  Hampshire. . .  1,650,000 

Vermont .  1,720,000 

Massachusetts .  1,620,000 

Connecticut .  1,775,000 

Rhode  Island .  290,000 

New  York .  19,750,000 


Value. 

$1,248,000 

1,551,000 

I,6l6,800 

1,539,000 

1,775,000 

319,000 

14,615,000 


Total . 28,105,000  $22,663,800 


We  have  added  the  crop  of  New  York  State  to 
the  list,  and  find  that  the  total  value  is  still  over 
three  million  dollars  less  than  that  of  the  crop  of 
undeveloped  Texas. 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


93 


BARLEY. 

Barley  is  another  cereal  which  yields  to  profusion 
in  New  Spain.  In  proof  of  this  assertion  we  will 
take  the  statistics  of  California  for  the  year  1875, 
in  comparison  with  the  leading  States  of  the  Union 
in  this  product :  * 


State. 

Value  of  Crop. 

I. 

California . 

. $8,235,500 

2. 

New  York . 

3- 

Iowa . 

4- 

Illinois . 

5- 

Wisconsin . 

Mexico,  as  well  as  the  northern  portion  of  New 
Spain,  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  successful  grow¬ 
ing  of  this  commodity.  As  the  United  States  im¬ 
ported  during  the  year  ending  June  30,  1876, 
$7,887,886  worth  of  barley,  and  nearly  as  much 
each  of  the  two  year's  preceding,  Mexico  would  do 
well  to  devote  more  attention  to  the  production  of 
this  cereal. 

CATTLE. 

As  it  is  impossible  to  find  the  statistics  of  many 
elements  of  the  wealth  of  New  Spain,  as  a  whole, 
we  will  continue  to  consider  Texas  and  California 
as  representative  States,  and  give  such  statistics  as 


*  See  Annual  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Agriculture. 


94 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


their  partial  development  presents.  If  the  reader 
thinks  it  is  unfair  to  select  these  portions  as  repre¬ 
sentative  of  the  agricultural  capacity  of  the  South¬ 
west,  as  a  whole,  we  beg  leave  to  again  call  his  at¬ 
tention  to  the  above  quoted  under-estimate,  twen¬ 
ty-seven  years  ago,  of  the  capacity  of  California. 
That  State,  in  minerals,  climate,  “  dry  regions,” 
need  of  irrigation,  and  in  other  respects,  bears 
great  resemblance  to  Mexico  ;  and  why  should  not 
Mexico  and  New  Spain,  as  a  whole,  bear  great  re¬ 
semblance  to  California  in  surprising  results  of  an 
agricultural  development  ? 

According  to  the  United  States  census  of  1870, 
there  are  three  classifications  of  cattle,  viz. :  Milch 
cows,  working  oxen,  and  other  cattle.  Comparing 
the  statistics  of  Texas  with  those  of  Illinois,  the 
great  State  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  we  have  the 


following  : 

Numbers . 

C  Milch  cows .  428,048 

Texas:  \  Working  oxen .  132,407 

(  Other  cattle . 2,933,588 

C  Milch  cows .  640,321 

Illinois  :  \  Working  oxen .  19,766 

(  Other  cattle .  1,055,499 


Texas  and  Illinois  are  ahead  of  every  other  State 
in  the  numbers  of  “  other  cattle,”  and,  as  will  be 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


95 

observed,  Texas  has  three  times  as  many  as  Illi¬ 
nois. 

The  total  number  of  “  other  cattle  ”  of  the  whole 
United  States,  in  1870,  was  given  as  13,566,005. 
It  will  be  observed  that  Texas  possessed  nearly 
one-fourth  of  this  total. 

California,  as  usual,  is  prepared  for  a  comparison  ; 
and  we  find  in  the  annual  report  for  1876  of  the 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  the 
three  leading  States,  in  “  oxen  and  other  cattle,”  to 
be  as  follows  in  numbers  in  January,  1877  : 

Texas .  3>39°>5°o 

Illinois .  1,287,000 

California .  1,053,500 

Perhaps  no  other  feature  of  New  Mexico,  North¬ 
ern  Mexico,  and,  indeed,  of  the  whole  South¬ 
west,  is  so  well  known  and  admitted  by  the  out¬ 
side  world  as  its  capacity  for  cattle-raising.  It  is 
an  industry  which  demands,  for  an  extensive  and 
successful  development,  the  same  mild  winters  and 
other  advantageous  characteristics  which  the  South¬ 
west  possesses. 

SHEEP  AND  WOOL. 

The  Southwest  has  equal  advantages  for  the  rais¬ 
ing  of  sheep  and  wool,  though  perhaps  not  as  well 
known  to  the  outside  world.  Drawing  upon  Cali- 


96 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


fornia  once  more  for  statistics,  and  for  a  sample  of 
the  capacity  of  the  Southwest  as  a  whole,  we  find 
that  it  was  in  1870  the  second  State  of  the  Union 
in  rank  in  the  number  of  sheep, 

Ohio  having . 4,928,635,  and 

California .  2,768,187 

These  two  States  were  also,  in  1870,  ahead  of 
every  other  in  the  wool  product, 

Ohio  producing .  20,539,643  lbs.,  and 

California .  1 1,391,743  lbs.* 

If  we  had  within  reach  the  statistics  of  the  wool 
products  of  New  Mexico  for  the  past  few  years, 
we  might  give  another  illustration  of  the  adapta¬ 
bility  of  the  great  Southwest  to  this  important  and 
profitable  industry. 

COFFEE. 

Of  the  southern  portion  of  New  Spain,  the  Brit¬ 
ish  minister  wrote,  in  1827:  “Coffee  is  another  of 
the  tropical  productions  for  which  the  soil  of  Mex¬ 
ico  is  admirably  adapted.”  After  describing  two 
large  estates,  he  said  they  “  contain  about  500,000 
coffee  plants,  50,000  of  which  were  in  full  produce 
when  I  saw  them  in  1826.  The  crop  of  the  pre¬ 
ceding  year  amounted  to  5,000  arrobas,  or  125,000 
pounds,  which  gives  two  and  a  half  pounds  of  cof- 


*  See  United  States  Census  of  1870. 


OTHER  WEALTH . 


97 


fee  as  the  average  production  of  each  plant.  I  am 
induced  to  believe  that  this  will  be  the  ordinary 
produce  of  good  land  throughout  Mexico;  it  con¬ 
siderably  exceeds  that  of  Havana,  where  Humboldt 
gives  860  kilogrammes  as  the  average  of  a  hectare 
of  land  containing  3,500  plants;  but  it  is  a  much 
lower  estimate  than  any  Mexican  planter  would 
make,  as  in  many  parts  of  the  country  from  three  to 
four  pounds  are  said  to  be  a  fair  average  crop.  I 
could  not  ascertain,  however,  that  this  calculation 
was  founded  upon  correct  data ;  and  I  do  not, 
therefore,  give  it  as  one  that  may  be  strictly  relied 
upon  ;  but  I  know  one  instance  of  a  single  coffee 
tree  having  produced  twenty-eight  pounds  of  cof¬ 
fee  in  the  garden  of  Don  Pablo  de  la  Llane,  at 
Cordova,  and  it  is  the  certainty  that  this  fact  is 
unquestionably  true  that  induces  me  to  give,  as  the 
possible  average  of  good  grounds  in  Mexico,  a  pro¬ 
duce  more  than  double  that  which  in  the  island  of 
Cuba  is  the  maximum  of  the  best  year  in  three.”  * 
Quite  an  effort  has  been  made,  in  Mexico,  during 
the  past  few  years,  to  extend  this  profitable  indus¬ 
try,  and,  judging  from  the  reports  of  the  United 
States  consuls,  the  effort  has  been  attended  with 
marked  success.  The  report  of  the  United  States 
Consul-General  to  the  State  Department  for  1874 


5 


*  Ward’s  “  Mexico,”  i.  72  and  73. 


98 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


contains  the  following  :  “  The  value  of  the  coffee 
exported  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the  United  States, 
during  the  year  ending  June  30,  1874,  is  $543,352  J 
and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  estimate,  considering 
the  home  consumption,  that  the  crop  of  coffee 
raised  last  year  on  the  coffee  plantations,  scattered 
over  a  limited  area  between  this  city  and  the  Gulf 
coast,  amounts  to  over  a  million  of  dollars.  This 
can  be  increased  to  a  hundred  millions  with  a  com¬ 
paratively  small  money  capital  and  a  large  invest¬ 
ment  of  enterprise.”*  The  official  report,  from  the 
same  source,  for  the  year  1876,  shows  that  the  ex¬ 
port  of  coffee,  from  the  single  port  of  Vera  Cruz, 
for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1876,  was,  in  value, 
$1,146,845.  As  the  United  States  imports  each 
year,  from  all  sources,  over  fifty  million  dollars' 
worth  of  coffee,  Mexico  certainly  has  a  great  in¬ 
ducement  to  develop,  to  their  utmost  capacity,  her 
coffee  plantations  ;  and  the  United  States  would 
be  benefited  in  turn  by  finding  a  good  supply  so 
near  her  own  door. 


SUGAR. 

All  of  the  standard  authorities  on  the  Mexican 
portion  of  New  Spain  testify  to  its  remarkable 
capacity  for  the  production  of  sugar.  Baron  Hum- 


*  See  Report  on  Commercial  Relations  for  1874,  p.  829. 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


99 


boldt  tells  how,  in  I553>  only  thirty-two  years 
after  the  conquest  by  Cortez,  the  production  was 
“  so  great  in  Mexico  that  it  was  exported  from 
Vera  Cruz  and  Acapulco  into  Spain  and  Peru.”* 
In  his  account  of  that  industry,  at  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  the  present  century,  he  stated  :  “  The  cul¬ 
tivation  of  sugar-cane  has  made  such  rapid  pro¬ 
gress  within  these  last  years  that  the  exporta¬ 
tion  of  sugar  at  the  port  of  Vera  Cruz  actually 
amounts  to  more  than  half  a  million  of  arrobas,  or 
6,250,000  kilogrammes.”  That  reduced  to  pounds  is 
13,980,312. 

Again,  quoting  from  the  report  of  the  British 
minister,  in  1827,  we  have  the  following  testimony: 
“  The  State  of  Vera  Cruz  alone  is  capable  of  sup- 
plying  all  Europe  with  sugar.  Humboldt  estimates 
the  produce  of  its  richest  mould  at  2,800  kilo¬ 
grammes  per  hectare ,  while  that  of  Cuba  does  not 
exceed  1,400  kilogrammes,  so  that  the  balance  is 
as  two  to  one  in  favor  of  Vera  Cruz.”  f  About 
twenty  years  later,  Mayer,  the  historian  of  Mexico, 
wrote  :  “  The  sugar-cane  is  one  of  the  most  valu¬ 
able  agricultural  products  of  Mexico,  and  we  are 
convinced,  from  personal  observation,  that  the  es¬ 
tates  in  the  Tierra  Caliente ,  where  it  is  chiefly  raised, 
are  the  richest  as  well  as  the  most  beautiful  in  the 

*  See  Humboldt’s  “  New  Spain,”  iii.  4. 

f  Ward’s  “  Mexico,”  i.  21. 


IOO 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


republic.”* * * §  Still  later  authority  is  the  report  of 
the  United  States  Consul  from  the  State  of  Vera 
Cruz  in  1874.  He  says :  “  The  sugar-cane  once 
planted  lasts  from  fifteen  to  twenty  years,  and  this 
with  the  very  little  care  that  is  given  it  by  the 
Mexicans  generally.  It  is  supposed  that  the  same 
planting  will  last  even  for  a  longer  time  when  cul¬ 
tivated  with  the  intelligence  and  experience  of  the 
foreign  planter.”  f 

Again,  in  1875,  a  consul  of  the  United  States 
reported  :  “  The  plantations  in  the  State  of  More¬ 
los  (adjoining  the  States  of  Mexico  and  Puebla), 
and  which  are  over  some  forty  in  number,  now 
produce  far  more  than  is  required  for  home  con¬ 
sumption,  and  are  capable  of  increasing  their  pro¬ 
ducts  three  or  four-fold.”  J 

The  exports  of  sugar  from  Mexico  are  evidently 
but  a  small  portion  of  the  product,  and  the  exports 
from  the  single  port  of  Vera  Cruz  are  not  all  of  the 
exports.  But  as  we  are  unable  to  find  satisfactory 
information  in  regard  to  the  amount  raised,  we  give 
the  following  table  of  exports  of  sugar  from  Vera 
Cruz,  for  the  past  few  years,  as  some  indication  of  an 
increased  development  of  that  industry  in  Mexico. § 

*  Mayer’s  History  of  Mexico,  ii.  62. 

f  See  Report  on  Commercial  Relations  for  1874,  p.  876. 

\  Idem,  for  1875,  p.  1118. 

§  Idem,  for  1876,  p.  746. 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


IOI 


Years  ending  June  30.  Value  in  Dollars . 

1872- 1873 .  40 

1873- 1874 .  1,884 

1874- 1875 .  25,l6l 

1875- 1876 .  228,832 

COCHINEAL. 

Another  striking  illustration  of  the  assertion  that 
silver  and  gold  do  not  comprise  all  the  wealth  of 
New  Spain  are  the  statistics  in  regard  to  the  pro¬ 
duct  of  cochineal.  Ward  speaks  of  it  as  a  product 
“  which  nature  seems  to  have  bestowed  almost  ex¬ 
clusively  upon  Mexico  ;  for  the  insect  which  bears 

the  same  name  in  the  Brazils  is  a  very  inferior 

* 

kind.”  He  states  that  “  the  plantations  of  the 
cochineal  cactus  are  confined  to  the  district  of  La 
Misteca,  in  the  State  of  Oaxaca.”  After  telling  how, 
in  1758,  a  government  registry  of  this  important 
industry  was  established  in  the  above-mentioned 
State,  he  says :  “  By  the  official  returns,  which  I 
possess,  it  appears  that  the  value  of  cochineal  en¬ 
tered  upon  the  books  of  this  office,  up  to  1815,  was 
$91,308,907,  which,  upon  fifty-seven  years,  gives  an 
average  of  $1,601,910  per  annum,  without  making 
any  allowance  for  contraband.”  *  He  estimated  the 
contraband  as  one-fourth  more,  and  consequently 
the  average  annual  value  to  be  $2,002,387.  Mayer 


*  Ward's  “  Mexico/'  i.  84,  85. 


102 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


gives  the  statistics  of  the  product  down  to  1832  as 
follows:  “It  appears  that  from  1758  to  1832,  inclu¬ 
sive,  or  in  seventy-five  years,  44,195,750  pounds  of 
cochineal  were  produced  in  the  State  of  Oajaca 
alone,  which  were  worth  $106,170,671  at  the  mar¬ 
ket  price.”  * 

SILK. 

The  raising  of  silk  cocoons  was,  many  years  ago, 
quite  an  industry  in  parts  of  New  England,  and 
many  a  fine  field  was  covered  with  mulberry-trees, 
the  leaves  of  which  furnished  food  for  the  worms. 
But  little  remains  of  that  industry  there  except  the 
stumps  of  the  trees.  It  has  reappeared  in  New 
Spain,  and  has  been  accompanied  there  with 
marked  success.  Of  the  3,937  pounds  of  silk  co¬ 
coons  raised  in  the  United  States,  in  1870,  3,587 
pounds  were  raised  in  California. f  Brace,  who 
wrote  about  1868,  says  of  the  mulberry-trees: 
“  Some  4,000,000  trees  are  said  already  to  have 
been  planted  in  the  State.”  J 

QUICKSILVER. 

In  a  careful  review  of  the  mineral  products  of 
the  United  States  during  its  first  century,  Prof. 
Hunt  says  of  California,  one  of  the  States  of  for- 


*  See  his  History  of  Mexico, 
f  See  United  States  Census  of  1870. 

\  “  The  New  West,”  by  C.  L.  Brace,  p.  323. 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


103 


mer  New  Spain  :  “  In  no  other  region  of  the  globe, 
however,  is  the  ore  of  quicksilver  so  widely  dis¬ 
tributed  as  in  California,  and  there  is  reason  to  be¬ 
lieve  that  from  the  opening  and  working  of  new 
deposits  the  production  will  soon  be  much  in¬ 
creased,  a  result  which  will  be  stimulated  by  the 
present  high  price  of  quicksilver,  and  its  scarcity  in 
foreign  markets.”  *  Another  authority  states  that 
it  “  is  found  at  many  localities  in  Mexico,  but  is 
not  extracted  at  present  on  a  large  scale.”  f  The 
value  of  the  exports  of  quicksilver  in  California 
from  1852  (about  the  beginning  of  the  working 
of  the  mines)  to  1867,  has  been  estimated  to  be 
$16,000,000.  \  The  United  States  Commissioner 
of  Mining  Statistics,  in  his  annual  report  for  1874, 
estimates  California’s  exports  of  quicksilver,  for 
the  period  1859  to  1874,  both  inclusive,  to  be 
$14,226,441. 

FRUITS  AND  WINES. 

Many  portions  of  the  Southwest  produce  delicate 
and  semi-tropical  fruits,  and  the  finest  quality  of 
wine.  Many  other  portions  are  well  adapted  in  cli¬ 
mate  and  soil  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  that 
industry.  In  the  hot,  or  low  lands  of  Mexico,  the 
banana,  orange,  pine-apple,  and  lemon,  of  excellent 

*  “  First  Century  of  the  Republic,”  p.  199. 
f  See  paper  on  Mercury,  in  American  Cyclopaedia, 
t  See  Blake  on  “  Production  of  Precious  Metals,”  p.  196. 


104 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


quality,  are  produced  in  abundance.  Ward  says  : 
“  The  banana  is  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Tierra 
Calientc  what  maize  is  to  those  of  the  table  land  ;  it 
furnishes  them  with  the  principal  article  of  their 
daily  food.”  *  In  Central  New  Spain,  near  the 
boundary  between  the  two  republics,  fruits  and 
wines  of  remarkable  richness  grow  in  great  profu¬ 
sion.  The  grape  of  the  Messila  valley,  in  Southern 
New  Mexico,  is  noted  for  its  fine  qualities.  In 
Southern  California  the  new  civilization,  which  has 
been  developing  that  State  since  the  discovery  of 
gold,  is  showing  to  the  outside  world  some  signifi¬ 
cant  facts  and  figures  in  regard  to  the  capabilities 
of  New  Spain  in  the  growing  of  fruits  and  wines. 
A  recent  writer,  in  a  description  of  one  of  the  es¬ 
tates  in  Southern  California,  says  :  “  Standing  on 
the  front  veranda  one  looks  down  a  broad  avenue 
overshadowed  on  each  side  by  magnificent  orange- 
trees.  This  is  par  excellence  the  orange  avenue.  It 
extends  a  mile  with  double  rows  of  trees  on  each 
side.  Mr.  Rose  has,  in  all,  between  six  and  seven 
thousand  orange-trees,  but  only  a  comparatively 
small  part  of  them  have  come  into  bearing.  He 
has  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  vineyards,  where¬ 
in  grow  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  vines, 
from  which  he  made  last  year  one  hundred  thou- 


*  Ward’s  “  Mexico,”  i.  51. 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


105 

sand  gallons  of  white  wine  and  three  thousand  gal¬ 
lons  of  brandy.  A  part  of  the  crop  that  he  sent  to 
the  market  last  year  consisted  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  oranges,  fifty  thousand  lemons,  and 
twenty-five  thousand  pounds  of  English  walnuts. 
Besides  these  tropical  fruits,  he  raises  apples,  pears, 
and  peaches  in  considerable  quantities,  and  in  ad¬ 
dition  to  all  these,  pomegranates,  figs,  nectarines, 
apricots,  and  olives.”*  The  same  author  speaks  of 
another  orange  grove  in  Southern  California  “  con¬ 
taining  two  thousand  trees,  which,  when  sixteen 
years  old,  averaged  one  thousand  five  hundred 
oranges  per  tree,  and  has  continued  to  yield  about 
the  same  each  year  ;  ”  of  still  another  orange  grove 
of  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty  trees,  some  of  which 
have  borne  as  many  as  four  thousand  oranges  ;  of  a 
gentleman  in  Los  Angeles  who  “in  1873  sold  twelve 
hundred  dollars’  worth  of  oranges  from  the  trees  on 
half  an  acre ;  ”  of  “  an  olive-tree  in  Santa  Barbara, 
that  is  thirty  years  old,  from  which  has  been  made 
forty-eight  dollars’  worth  of  oil  each  year,  for  three 
successive  years.”  The  author  also  states  that 
there  are  “  twenty  thousand  olive-trees  already  set 
out  in  Southern  California.”  f  Another  writer  on 
California  says:  “There  are  pear-trees  at  San  Jose 
which  produce  twenty-five  hundred  pounds,  or  forty 


*  “  Two  Years  in  California,”  by  Mary  Cone,  p.  65. 
f  Idem,  pp.  65,  85,  and  86. 

5* 


io6 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


bushels  each  of  fruit  annually.”  *  Still  another  au¬ 
thority  on  California,  in  describing  the  great  vine¬ 
yards  of  that  State  as  he  saw  them  about  1868, 
estimated  the  number  of  grape-vines  in  Sonoma 
valley  to  be  2,438,0004  In  the  United  States 
census  of  1870  the  wine  production  is  given  both  in 
the  statistics  of  agriculture  and  manufactures,  “  ac¬ 
cording  as  the  wine  is  made  upon  the  farm  or  vine¬ 
yard,  and  consequently  by  agricultural  labor  or  in 
large  establishments.”  On  the  farms  California 
produced  1,814,656  gallons  of  the  total  3,092,330 
gallons  produced  in  the  whole  United  States,  and 
was  the  first  State  of  the  Union  in  that  product, 
the  second  State,  which  was  Missouri,  producing 
only  326,173  gallons.  Of  the  amount  manufactured 
California  furnished  a  product  worth  $602,553. 
Only  one  State  manufactured  more,  and  that  was 
Missouri,  whose  product  was  worth  $934,442. 

The  total  wine  product  of  California,  for  the  year 
1876,  is  estimated  to  be  $3,000,000,  and  the  value 
of  the  fruit  product  $2,500,0004 

RESUME. 

The  above  elements  of  wealth,  other  than  silver 
and  gold,  are  not  all  of  the  varied  resources  of  New 

*  Hittel’s  “California,”  p.  191. 

|  “  The  New  West,”  by  C.  L.  Brace,  p.  261. 

%  San  Francisco  Journal  of  Covuncrce ,  January  10,  1877. 


OTHER  WEALTH. 


107 


Spain.  But  the  few  facts  and  figures  given  are 
sufficient  to  prove  that  the  Southwest  is  as  rich  in 
agriculture  as  in  precious  metals.  Of  the  States  of 
the  Union  the  first  in  silver,  gold,  wheat,  barley, 
silk,  cattle,  are  States  acquired  from  Mexico,  and 
within  the  limits  of  New  Spain.  Furthermore, 
one  of  the  States  in  the  same  remarkable  area  will 
very  soon  be  first  in  the  value  of  its  cotton  pro¬ 
duct,  for  Texas,  on  less  than  one  per  cent,  of  its  area , 
produced,  in  1876,  more  than  any  other  State,  ex¬ 
cept  Mississippi. 

Remarkable  as  are  these  statistics,  they  are  still 
more  so  when  we  consider  that  the  Southwest  is 
comparatively  new  to  American  civilization,  is 
sparsely  settled,  is  almost  unknown  to  railways, 
and  comparatively  undeveloped. 

Probably  no  other  portion  of  the  earth’s  surface 
is  naturally  so  self-supporting,  for  the  long  list  of 
its  products  not  only  embraces  the  staple  articles 
of  commerce  and  the  necessities  of  life,  but  also 
very  many  of  the  luxuries;  and  all  grow  in  great 
profusion. 


io8 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

LUXURIES  AND  ATTRACTIONS. 


FACILITIES  FOR  THE  ACQUIREMENT  OF  WEALTH. 

The  country  which  abounds  in  facilities  for  the 
acquisition  of  wealth,  as  well  as  its  enjoyment,  is 
pre-eminently  the  place  for  luxuries.  Such  a  land 
is  New  Spain.  Without  riches  in  silver  and  gold 
and  agriculture,  it  would  be  an  attractive  resort  for 
tourists  and  pleasure-seekers  from  abroad,  because 

t 

of  its  delightful  climate,  high  table-lands,  and  mag¬ 
nificent  scenery.  But  climate  and  scenery  are  not 
sufficient  for  the  wants  of  permanent  inhabitants. 
The  world  is  full  of  illustrations  of  the  tendency, 
on  the  part  of  the  rich,  to  leave  the  unattractive 
places  where  they  were  enabled  to  acquire  fortunes, 
and  go  elsewhere  with  their  riches,  seeking  plea¬ 
sures  and  luxuries.  Fortunate  is  the  country  which 
furnishes  both  riches  and  pleasures.  The  immense 
treasures  in  silver  and  gold  of  the  Montezumas, 
the  great  wealth  acquired  by  many  of  the  Span¬ 
ish  proprietors  of  the  mines  in  Old  Mexico,  the 
princely  fortunes  unlocked  from  the  mines  of  Cali- 


LUXURIES  AND  ATTRACTIONS . 


IO9 


fornia  and  Nevada,  in  the  northern  portion  of  New 
Spain,  are  striking  instances  of  the  capacity  of  the 
Southwest,  as  a  whole,  when,  as  a  whole,  it  receives 
an  adequate  development.  Cortez  undertook  the 
conquest  of  Mexico  because  he  believed  it  to  be 
a  promising  field  for  the  acquirement  of  riches. 
That  he  did  not  overestimate  the  wealth  of  that 
portion  of  New  Spain  appears  from  the  amount 
of  spoils  secured  by  his  soldiers,  the  known  value 
of  which  was  over  six  million  dollars,  and  the  value 
of  that  not  estimated  by  the  historians  was  perhaps 
as  much  more.  We  have  already  seen  how  one  of 
the  Spanish  miners  of  Durango  extracted  thirty 
million  dollars  in  precious  metals  in  the  space  of 
twenty-four  years;  how  in  the  north  of  New  Spain 
over  a  thousand  millions  of  gold  have  been  taken 
from  the  mines  of  California  since  1848,  and  nearly 
three  hundred  millions  of  gold  and  silver  taken 
from  the  mines  of  Nevada  since  1859.  According 
to  the  United  States  census  the  value  of  real  and 
personal  property  of  California,  at  different  dates, 
is  estimated  as  follows  : 


1850 .  $22,161,872 

i860 .  207,874,613 

1870 .  638,767,017 


Of  the  history  of  material  development,  the 
world  has  never  furnished  so  brilliant  a  page  as 


no 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


California  during  the  last  twenty-nine  years.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  mention  individual  instances  of  the 
fortunes  acquired  in  California  and  Nevada,  for  the 
story  has  many  times  been  told,  and  is  well  known. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  San  Francisco  in  a  very  few 
years  has  grown  to  be  an  important  money  center, 
and  the  great  fortunes  of  the  future  in  this  country 
are  likely  to  be  most  numerous  on  the  Pacific  coast. 

TOPOGRAPHY  AND  CLIMATE. 

Good  climate  is  not  only  one  of  the  greatest  of 
luxuries,  but  is  an  absolute  necessity  for  thousands 
of  suffering  humanity.  It  is  a  luxury  which,  in 
itself,  costs  no  money,  but  immense  sums  are  spent 
every  year  in  the  pilgrimage  to  find  it.  Business  is 
neglected,  and  expense  disregarded  by  those  whose 
lives  depend  upon  the  pure,  dry,  and  exhilarating  air 
of  high  elevations,  and  an  escape  from  the  severity  of 
northern  winters.  All  of  these  good  qualities  may 
be  found  in  the  climate  of  New  Spain  to  a  degree 
unsurpassed  by  any  other  part  of  the  world.  Flor¬ 
ida  possesses  some  of  these  qualities,  but  not  the 
elevations  or  dryness.  Other  resorts  are  elevated 
and  dry,  but  without  mild  winters.  In  the  South¬ 
west  all  of  these  features  are  combined.  Large 
numbers  of  health-seekers  have  already  been  at¬ 
tracted  to  Southern  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Ari¬ 
zona,  and  Southern  California,  and  when  that  re- 


L  UX URIES  AND  A  TTRA  CTIONS. 


Ill 


gion  is  more  generally  known  to  the  outside  world, 
and  the  advance  of  railways  renders  it  more  acces¬ 
sible,  thousands  more  will  seek  its  health-giving 
climate. 

As  we  have  previously  seen,  the  great  interior  of 
Old  Mexico  is  a  highly  elevated  table-land,  and 
New  Mexico  averages  5,660  feet  above  the  sea.  A 
good  authority  states  that  “  the  Mexicans  divide 
their  country,  with  respect  to  climate,  into  Tier- 
ras  Calientes  (hot  lands),  which  rarely  exceed  900 
feet  in  elevation;  Tierras  Templadas  (temperate), 
ranging  between  4,000  and  5,000  feet;  and  Tierras 
Frias  (cold),  above  7,000  feet.”  *  Of  these  classifi¬ 
cations  the  hot  lands  constitute  a  very  small  por¬ 
tion  of  the  area,  and  are  the  narrow  strip  of  low 
elevations  near  the  oceans.  A  writer  on  New  Mex¬ 
ico  makes  the  following  comment  on  its  climate, 
which  could  with  equal  justice  be  applied  to  Old 
Mexico,  viz.:  ‘‘The  sanitoria  of  the  Union  is  lo¬ 
cated  in  Southern  New  Mexico,  where  the  atmos¬ 
phere  is  more  dry  than  in  Colorado,  the  sky 
bri  ghter,  the  nights  sufficiently  cool  for  refreshing 
sleep,  and  free  from  ‘  damp  night  air,’  and  the  ele¬ 
vations  are  such  as  to  suit  each  case,  varying  from 
the  elevation  of  the  Rio  Grande  at  4,000  feet,  to 
the  mines  in  Grant  County,  and  the  high  cattle 


*  Paper  on  Mexico  in  Lippincott’s  Gazetteer. 


1 1 2 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


ranches  in  the  Guadaloupe  ranges  in  Lincoln  County, 
where  7,000  feet  may  be  selected  on  the  clear  trout 
streams  and  cool  springs  of  water.”  * 

An  authority  on  “Semi-tropical  California”  says 
of  Los  Angeles :  “  During  what  may  be  termed 
the  winter  months  50°  will  mark  on  an  average  the 
mean  temperature,  and  water  is  never  congealed. ”f 
It  gives  for  the  year  1871,  the  temperature  of  a 
place  in  Los  Angeles  as  follows  :  J 


Month. 

Sunrise. 

9  A.  AI. 

3  P.  M. 

9  P.  M. 

January . 

.  40 

55 

64 

50 

February  .... 

.  41 

56 

64 

48 

March . 

.  40 

60 

69 

54 

April . 

•  53 

66 

73 

57 

May . 

•  56 

65 

7i 

60 

June . . . 

.  61 

70 

77 

6  4 

July . 

.  66 

74 

80 

67 

August . 

.  65 

75 

81 

69 

September  . . . 

.  61 

75 

85 

67 

October . 

•  59 

74 

79 

62 

November. . . . 

.  49 

67 

69 

57 

December .... 

•  4  7 

57 

62 

5i 

Prof.  Raymond, 

in  his 

annual 

report 

for  1870, 

says:  “The  climate  of  New  Mexico  is  mild  and 


*  “  New  Mexico,”  by  Brevoort,  p.  149. 
f  Truman’s  “Semi-tropical  California,”  p.  31. 
%  Idem,  p.  78. 


L  UX URIES  AND  A  TTRA  CTIONS. 


113 

healthy,  the  sky  as  clear  as  that  of  Italy,  and  the 
air  transparent  and  pure.  In  fact  the  very  act  of 
breathing  in  this  country  makes  existence  in  it  a 
pleasure.”  * 

But  the  pure  mountain  air  of  the  Southwest  is 
not  confined  to  the  uninhabited  regions.  Many  of 
the  business  centers  and  great  cities  are  mountain 
cities,  Santa  Fe,  in  New  Mexico,  being  7,047  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  the  capital  of  Old  Mexico  7,469 
feet  above  the  sea.  Those  who  dread  the  fogs 
and  miasmas  of  river  valleys,  the  severe  winters  of 
New  England  and  other  Northern  States,  who  seek 
a  mild,  agreeable,  and  invigorating  climate,  either 
as  a  necessity  or  luxury,  can  find  it  in  the  land  se¬ 
lected  by  the  civilized  native  races  as  their  moun¬ 
tain  home,  coveted  and  conquered  by  the  Spanish, 
and  now  being  approached  by  the  Anglo-American 
civilization. 


SCENERY  AND  WONDERS. 

Perhaps  not  in  the  whole  world  can  the  pleasure- 
seekers  find  a  greater  variety  of  wonders  and  mag¬ 
nificent  scenery  than  in  different  portions  of  New 
Spain.  An  elevated  mountain  city  possesses  the 
luxury  of  grand  scenery  as.  well  as  delightful  cli¬ 
mate.  Mexico  is  in  the  mountains,  over  seven 


*  Annual  Report  on  Mining  Statistics,  p.  383. 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


I  14 

thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and  also  in  a  valley  sur¬ 
rounded  by  mountains.  In  other  words,  it  is  situ¬ 
ated  in  a  mountain  valley  which  is  surrounded  by 
mountain  ranges  and  peaks,  making  a  rare  combi¬ 
nation  of  remarkable  scenery.  The  valley  of  Mex¬ 
ico,  as  first  seen  by  the  Spanish  conquerors,  when 
on  their  march  they  reached  the  summit  of  the 
surrounding  mountains,  is  beautifully  illustrated  by 
the  word-painting  of  Prescott  as  follows :  “  Its  pic¬ 
turesque  assemblage  of  water,  woodland,  and  culti¬ 
vated  plains,  its  shining  cities  and  shadowy  hills, 
was  spread  out  like  some  gay  and  gorgeous  pano¬ 
rama  before  them.  In  the  highly  rarefied  atmos¬ 
phere  of  these  upper  regions  even  remote  objects 
have  a  brilliancy  of  coloring  and  a  distinctness  of 
outline  which  seem  to  annihilate  distance.  Stretch¬ 
ing  far  away  at  their  feet  were  seen  noble  forests 
of  oak,  sycamore,  and  cedar  ;  and  beyond,  yellow 
fields  of  maize,  and  the  towering  maguey  inter¬ 
mingled  with  orchards  and  blooming  gardens;  for 
flowers,  in  such  demand  for  their  religious  festivals, 
were  even  more  abundant  in  this  populous  valley 
than  in  other  parts  of  Anahuac.  In  the  center  of 
the  great  basin  were  beheld  the  lakes,  occupying 
then  a  much  larger  portion  of  its  surface  than  at 
present  ;  their  borders  thickly  studded  with  towns 
and  hamlets  in  the  midst — like  some  Indian  em¬ 
press  with  her  coronal  of  pearls, — the  fair  city  of 


LUXURIES  AND  ATTRACTIONS. 


”5 

Mexico,  with  her  white  towers  and  pyramidal 
temples  reposing  as  it  were  on  the  bosom  of  the 
waters,  the  far-famed  ‘Venice  of  the  Aztecs.’”* 
The  city  and  lakes  have  changed  since  the  days 
of  the  conquest,  but  in  other  respects  the  magnifi¬ 
cence  of  the  combination  of  mountain  and  valley 
remains  the  same. 

As  we  have  previously  stated,  this  is  not  a  de¬ 
tailed  review  of  the  Southwest.  It  is  a  brief  statis¬ 
tical  summary,  and  space  does  not  permit  more 
than  a  few  notes  on  the  subject  of  scenery.  The 
Yosemite  Valley,  in  northern  New  Spain,  would 
alone  require  a  whole  volume,  with  costly  illustra¬ 
tions.  Such  works  are  already  in  existence,  and 
are  mentioned  in  the  list  of  “  Authorities.”  There 
are,  however,  a  few  wonders  which  can  appropri¬ 
ately  be  noticed  here,  and  one  is  the  “  big  trees.” 
Bancroft  speaks  of  nine  groves  having  been  dis¬ 
covered  in  California,  of  which  the  most  remarkable 
are  those  known  as  Calaveras  and  Mariposa  groves. 
He  says,  of  Calaveras  grove,  that  it  “  contains  about 
ninety  trees,  which  can  be  called  really  big  ;  ”  and 
then  proceeds  to  give  the  measurement  of  all  of  the 
thirty-one  which  had  been  measured  by  the  State 
survey. f  This  list  contains— 


*  Prescott’s  “  Conquest  of  Mexico,”  ii.  51,  52. 
f  Bancroft’s  “  Tourist’s  Guide,”  pp.  52-54. 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


1 1 6 

Five  between  231  and  250  feet  high. 

Seventeen  between  250  and  275  feet  high. 

Five  “  275  “  300  “ 

Three  “  300  “  325  “ 

and  one  325  feet  high,  with  a  girth  of  45  feet  six 
feet  from  the  ground.  Of  another  one  of  this  list, 
he  states  it  had  a  girth  of  61  feet,  without  the  bark. 

Of  Mariposa  grove  he  says  that  there  were,  at 
the  time  of  the  last  official  count,  606  trees.  Of 
the  two  groves  he  says  :  “  Both  the  Calaveras  and 
Mariposa  groves  contain  hollow  trunks  of  fallen 
trees  through  which  two,  and  even  three  horsemen 
can  ride  abreast  for  60  or  70  feet.”* 

Of  the  age  of  the  trees,  Whitney,  in  his  “  Geo¬ 
logical  Survey  of  California,”  states  that  one  of  the 
trees  in  the  Calaveras  grove,  “  six  feet  above  the 
ground,  has  a  diameter  of  23  feet  inside  the  bark,  and 
was  found  to  be  about  1,300  years  old.  It  was  easy 
to  count  the  annual  rings,  and  they  amounted  to 
1,255  in  number  ;  but  there  being  a  small  space, 
about  a  foot  in  diameter,  at  the  center  of  the  tree, 
from  which  the  wood  was  decayed  away,  it  would 
be  a  reasonable  estimate  to  call  the  age  of  this  par¬ 
ticular  tree  about  1,300  years.”! 

But  mountain  cities,  “  big  trees,”  and  the  won- 


*  Idem,  p.  62. 

f  Whitney’s  “Geological  Survey  of  California,”  i.  444. 


L  UX URIES  AND  A  TTRA  CTIONS. 


II 7 

derful  Yosemite  Valley  are  not  all.  Brace  describes 
a  grape-vine  near  Santa  Barbara,  in  California, 
which  “  was  planted  by  a  lady,  Donna  de  Domin¬ 
guez,  over  sixty-five  years  ago,  from  a  slip  which 
she  had  cut  in  Monterey  County  for  a  horsewhip. 
It  is  trained  on  a  trellis,  about  ten  feet  from  the 
ground,  and  now  covers  a  space,  as  I  measured  it, 
of  ninety-three  feet  by  about  fifty.  The  circum¬ 
ference  of  the  trunk  five  inches  from  the  ground 
was  three  feet  and  a  half  inch  ;  and  eight  feet  high, 
just  below  the  branches,  it  measured  four  feet  and 
three  inches.  It  bears  about  eight  thousand  pounds 
of  grapes  per  annum,  and  is  said  to  almost  support 
the  family  which  own  it.”*  Another  wonder,  ac¬ 
cording  to  Baron  Humboldt,  and  which  we  have  al¬ 
ready  described,  is  the  highly  elevated  plateau  or 
flattened  crest  of  the  mountains  extending  through 
the  center  of  New  Spain,  and  which  he  considered 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  formations  of  the  kind 
in  the  whole  world. 

Still  another  remarkable  formation  is  the  canon 
of  the  Colorado  River  of  the  West,  and  one  which 
has  not  a  parallel  in  the  whole  world.  The  rocky 
walls,  between  which  this  river  flows,  are,  at  one 
place,  6,200  feet  high,  rising  almost  perpendicularly. 
In  other  words,  the  walls  which  stand  facing  each 


*  “  The  New  West,”  by  C.  L.  Brace,  pp.  302,  303. 


x  1 8 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


other  on  opposite  sides  of  the  narrow  stream  are 
over  a  mile  high.”  * 

ANTIQUITIES. 

To  the  student  there  is  no  greater  pleasure  than 
a  visit  to  the  ancient  ruins  of  the  classic  nations. 
In  his  college  course  the  study  of  Ancient  America 
has  been  sacrificed  for  the  study  of  Ancient  Greece 
and  Rome.  It  is  not  unreasonable  that  the  study 
of  the  antiquities  of  foreign  civilized  nations  should 
be  more  attractive  and  instructive  than  the  anti¬ 
quities  of  wild  Indian  tribes  at  home.  But  there  is 
one  portion  of  North  America  which  abounds  in 
antiquities  of  a  very  brilliant  civilization,  and  an¬ 
other  portion  which  abounds  in  the  ruins  of  semi- 
civilized  native  races.  Both  of  these  classes  of  anti¬ 
quities  are  confined  to  New  Spain,  the  ruins  of  the 
Aztecs,  Toltecs,  and  perhaps  still  earlier  nations 
being  in  Old  Mexico,  and  the  ruins  of  the  Pueblos 
in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  and  other  portions  of 
the  territory  acquired  from  Mexico.  To  describe 
these  ruins  would  require,  at  least,  a  dozen  volumes 
larger  than  this,  and  to  illustrate  them  would  re¬ 
quire  a  fortune  of  large  dimensions.  Lord  Kings- 
borough’s  illustrated  work  on  Mexican  antiquities, 
as  we  have  already  mentioned,  cost  over  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty  thousand  dollars.  We  can  only 


*  See  Powell  on  the  Colorado  River  of  the  West. 


LUXURIES  AND  ATTRACTIONS. 


1 19 

mention  a  few  significant  facts  and  figures,  and  call 
the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  authorities  on  this 
subject,  to  show  that  it  is  one  of  the  great  attrac¬ 
tions  of  New  Spain.  And  it  is  an  attraction  which 
will  be  appreciated  when  there  are  such  railway 
facilities  as  will  enable  the  student  and  tourist  to 
conveniently  visit  that  part  of  classic  America. 

Of  Yucatan,  the  southern  State  of  New  Spain, 
Bancroft  states  it  “  presents  a  rich  field  for  anti¬ 
quarian  exploration,  furnishing,  perhaps,  finer  and 
certainly  more  numerous  specimens  of  ancient  ab¬ 
original  architecture,  sculpture,  and  painting  than 
have  been  discovered  in  any  other  section  of  Amer¬ 
ica.  The  State  is  literally  dotted,  at  least  in  the 
northern,  central,  or  best  known  portions,  with 
ruined  edifices  and  cities.”  *  Stephens,  who  was 
the  first  one  to  make  an  extensive  exploration  of 
Yucatan,  and  whose  two  interesting  volumes  that 
record  his  discoveries  contain  one  hundred  and 
twenty  engravings  illustrating  the  ruins,  says:  “  In 
our  long,  irregular,  and  devious  route,  we  have  dis¬ 
covered  the  crumbling  remains  of  forty-four  an¬ 
cient  cities,  most  of  them  but  a  short  distance 
apart.”  f  Many  of  these  ruins  will  compare  favor¬ 
ably  with  the  ruins  of  the  European  classic  nations, 
as  a  reference  to  illustrations  contained  in  Ste- 


*  Bancroft’s  “  Native  Races,”  iv.  143. 
f  Stephens  on  Yucatan,  ii.  444. 


120 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY 


phens’s,  Lord  Kingsborough’s,  Catherwood’s,  and 
other  works  will  prove. 

The  Casa  del  Gobcrnador,  one  of  the  buildings 
described  and  illustrated  in  these  works,  was  “  a 
building  three  hundred  and  twenty-two  feet  long, 
thirty-nine  feet  wide,  and  twenty-six  feet  high, 
built  of  stone  and  mortar.”  *  Coming  northwardly 
through  New  Spain,  one  can  find,  between  Vera 
Cruz  and  the  city  of  Mexico,  the  ruins  of  a  pyr¬ 
amid  of  “  sandstone  in  regularly  cut  blocks  laid 
in  mortar,”  seven  stories  high,  and  over  ninety 
feet  square  at  the  base.f  In  about  the  same  lati¬ 
tude,  and  not  far  from  the  present  city  of  Puebla, 
are  the  ruins  of  the  pyramid  of  Cholula.  It  is 
thus  described  by  Bancroft:  “From  a  base  about 
fourteen  hundred  and  forty  feet  square,  whose  sides 
face  the  cardinal  points,  it  rose  in  four  equal  sto¬ 
ries  to  a  height  of  nearly  two  hundred  feet,  hav¬ 
ing  a  summit  platform  of  about  two  hundred  feet 
square.”  *  *  *  “  It  is  very  evident  .that  the 

pyramid  of  Cholula  contains  nothing  in  itself  to 
indicate  its  age,  but  from  well-defined  and  doubt¬ 
less  reliable  traditions,  we  may  feel  very  sure  that 
its  erection  dates  back  to  the  tenth  century,  and 
probably  preceding  the  seventh.  Humboldt  shows 
that  it  is  larger  at  the  base  than  any  of  the  old- 


*  Bancroft’s  “Native  Races,”  iv.  156. 
f  Idem,  pp.  452-454. 


LUXURIES  AND  ATTRACTIONS. 


12 1 


world  pyramids — over  twice  as  large  as  that  of 
Cheops.”  * 

The  broad  platform  at  the  summit  of  this  pyra¬ 
mid  was,  says  the  historian,  arranged  for  a  temple, 
which  was  several  times  built  and  rebuilt,  its  last 
destruction  being  at  the  hands  of  the  soldiers  of 
Cortez  in  a  fierce  battle  with  the  Aztecs. 

Still  farther  north,  near  the  boundary  between 
the  United  States  and  Mexico,  are  ruins  of  the 
semi-civilization.  They  are  described  in  detail  and 
finely  illustrated  by  the  engravings  of  Bartlett’s 
elaborate  work  on  the  border  States. 

As  we  have  already  mentioned,  Coronado,  who 
explored  the  northern  portion  of  New  Spain  soon 
after  Cortez  conquered  Mexico,  found  in  New  Mex¬ 
ico,  Arizona,  and  Southern  Colorado,  seventy  an¬ 
cient  cities  or  villages,  and  ruins  of  many  more.f 
According  to  Davis,  some  of  the  buildings  among 
those  ruins  contained  six  and  seven  stories.^ 

In  the  extreme  northern  portion  of  New  Spain, 
as  well  as  the  southern  and  central  portions,  the 
ancient  ruins  are  very  abundant,  so  much  so,  that 
Holmes,  of  Prof.  Hayden’s  survey,  in  his  recent 
report  on  the  ruins  of  the  San  Juan  region,  chiefly 
in  Southwestern  Colorado,  states  :  “  There  is  boun- 


6 


*  Idem,  pp.  469-475. 
f  Ante,  p.  13. 
f  Ante,  p.  12. 


122 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


tiful  evidence  that  at  one  time  it  supported  a  nu¬ 
merous  population  ;  there  is  scarcely  a  square  mile 
in  the  six  thousand  examined  that  would  not  fur¬ 
nish  evidence  of  occupation  by  a  race  totally  dis¬ 
tinct  from  the  nomadic  savages  who  hold  it  now, 
and  in  every  way  superior  to  them.”* 

In  support  of  the  assertion  that  New  Spain  is 
exceedingly  attractive  in  its  antiquities,  and  that 
the  ancient  ruins  and  architecture  will  compare 
very  favorably  with  those  of  foreign  classic  na¬ 
tions,  we  invite  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the 
magnificent  illustrations  of  Mexican  monuments  in 
Lord  Kingsborough’s  costly  work,  to  the  equally 
magnificent  but  less  costly  illustrations  by  Cather- 
wood,  to  the  many  views  of  the  massive  ruins  of 
Yucatan  contained  in  Stephens’s  profusely  illus¬ 
trated  work,  and  to  the  thorough  and  comprehen¬ 
sive  reviews  of  the  antiquities  of  New  Spain  con¬ 
tained  in  Baldwin’s  “  Ancient  America,”  and  the 
fourth  volume  of  Bancroft’s  “  Native  Races.” 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  ancient  history  of  the 
Southwest  is  a  history  of  civilization,  that  the  only 
ancient  civilization  of  North  America  was  confined 
to  that  particular  section,  the  study  of  its  antiqui¬ 
ties  is  very  important  as  well  as  attractive. 

The  new  interest  in  the  ancient  history  of  Amer- 


*  See  paper  on  ancient  ruins  of  Southwestern  Colorado,  by  W.  H. 
Holmes,  in  tenth  annual  report  of  Hayden’s  Survey. 


LUXURIES  AND  A  T TRACTIONS. 


123 


ica,  stimulated  by  Bancroft’s  recent  and  complete 
review  of  the  native  races  of  New  Spain,  by  the 
recent  explorations  of,  and  reports  on,  the  antiqui¬ 
ties  by  Prof.  Hayden’s  and  Lieutenant  Wheeler’s 
Surveys,  and  by  the  recent  Centennial  of  American 
Independence,  makes  the  Southwest,  which  is  the 
richest  field  for  such  researches,  unusually  conspi¬ 
cuous.  And  when  New  Spain  is  intersected  by 
railways,  we  may  expect  to  see  frequent  pilgrim¬ 
ages  of  patriotic  Americans  to  that  shrine  of  an¬ 
cient  American  history. 

FLOWERS. 

New  Spain  might  with  propriety  have  been  called 
the  Flowery  Kingdom,  for  the  march  of  the  Span¬ 
ish  soldiers  under  Cortez,  from  the  coast  to  the 
interior,  was  along  a  pathway  of  flowers,  a  luxury 
comparatively  unknown  to  the  other  pioneers  from 
Europe  who  entered  America  on  the  shores  of  New 
England.  The  historian,  in  describing  the  march 
from  Vera  Cruz  toward  the  capital,  tells  how,  when 
they  arrived  at  Cempoalla,  “  the  women,  as  well  as 
the  men,  mingled  fearlessly  among  the  soldiers, 
bearing  bunches  and  wreaths  of  flowers,  with  which 
they  decorated  the  neck  of  the  general’s  charger, 
and  hung  a  chaplet  of  roses  about  his  helmet. 
Flowers  were  the  delight  of  this  people.  They 


124 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


bestowed  much  care  in  their  cultivation.”  *  Again, 
in  describing  the  entrance  to  Cholula,  in  the  inte¬ 
rior,  the  historian  says  the  native  people  “  showed 
the  same  delicate  taste  for  flowers  as  the  other 
tribes  of  the  plateau,  decorating  their  persons  with 
them,  and  tossing  garlands  and  bunches  among  the 
soldiers.”  f  Still  more  interesting  is  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  great  market  at  the  Aztec  capital. 
Prescott,  after  speaking  of  the  various  products 
and  wares  exhibited  there  for  sale,  says  :  “  All  these 
commodities,  and  every  stall  and  portico  were  set 
out,  or  rather  smothered  with  flowers,  showing,  on 
a  much  larger  scale  indeed,  a  taste  similar  to  that 
displayed  in  the  markets  of  modern  Mexico.  Flow¬ 
ers  seem  to  be  the  spontaneous  growth  of  this  lux¬ 
uriant  soil,  which,  instead  of  noxious  weeds,  as  in 
other  regions,  is  ever  ready,  without  the  aid  of  man, 
to  cover  up  its  nakedness  with  this  rich  and  varie¬ 
gated  livery  of  nature.’’^  Mexico  of  the  present 
day  abounds  in  this  pleasing  luxury.  A  recent 
authority  states  that  “  the  flowers  of  Mexico  are 
among  the  richest  and  most  varied  in  the  world, 
and  several  of  the  streets  of  the  capital  on  Sunday 
mornings  are  literally  enameled  with  flowers  of 
brilliant  hue  and  fragrant  odor.”  §  Northern  New 

*  Prescott’s  “Conquest  of  Mexico,”  i.  342. 

f  Idem,  ii.  13.  %  Idem,  p.  138. 

§  Paper  on  Mexico  in  American  Cyclopaedia. 


LUXURIES  AND  ATTRACTIONS. 


125 


Spain,  as  well  as  the  Mexican  portion,  possesses  the 
same  attractive  features  in  the  profusion  of  flowers. 
In  his  review  of  California,  Brace  says :  “  San 
Francisco  should  be  called  the  ‘  City  of  Flowers.’ 
Such  is  the  power  of  this  divine  climate,  that  it 
only  needs  a  little  patch  of  sand  and  mould,  with 
plenty  of  water,  to  produce  the  most  magnificent 
vegetation.  Every  house  with  bits  of  yard  like 
ours  in  New  York  makes  the  most  splendid  show 
of  flowers  ;  scarlet  geraniums  ten  feet  high,  lemon 
verbenas  which  are  small  trees,  fuchsias  of  immense 
size,  callas  in  great  bunches,  splendid  roses  of  many 
varieties,  clambering  vines,  large  cacti,  gum-trees 
(. Eucalypti )  of  Australia,  and  beautiful  evergreens 
from  Japan,  Australia,  and  this  coast — all  left  out 
through  the  year,  and  only  needing  plenty  of  water 
from  the  garden  hose.”  * 

With  such  an  array  of  testimony,  and  much  more 
which  might  be  cited  to  the  same  effect,  the  term 
“  Flowery  Kingdom  ”  seems  particularly  appropri¬ 
ate. 

FRUITS  AND  WINES. 

Perhaps  the  tropical  fruits  and  delicate  wines  of 
New  Spain  are  quite  as  important  as  luxuries  as 
an  element  of  wealth ;  and  what  there  is  on  this 


*  The  “  New  West,”  by  C.  L.  Brace,  p.  37. 


126 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


subject  in  the  preceding  chapter  could  with  pro¬ 
priety  be  reproduced  here.  Most  all  of  the  leading 
markets  in  the  United  States  which  deal  in  im¬ 
ported  luxuries  are  supplied  with  the  pears  and 
grapes  and  wines  of  California.  Oranges,  olives, 
pineapples,  bananas,  and  figs  are  other  luxuries 
which  grow  in  profusion  in  New  Spain,  but  thus  far 
have  been  enjoyed  chiefly  by  her  own  inhabitants. 
The  tropical  and  semi-tropical  regions  of  the  South¬ 
west  can,  with  suitable  development,  supply  the 
whole  of  North  America  with  these  luxuries,  so 
extensively  imported  and  used. 

LUXURIOUS  LIVING. 

Other  lands  are  attractive  because  of  the  grandeur 
of  scenery,  the  wonders  of  nature,  and  the  antiqui¬ 
ties  ;  but,  as  a  rule,  they  are  not  wealth-producing, 
and  the  attractions  are  consequently  mainly  en¬ 
joyed  by  the  tourists  from  abroad.  New  Spain 
possesses  a  great  advantage  in  the  combination  of 
natural  wealth  and  luxuries.  It  is  a  place  for  lux¬ 
urious  living  at  home.  It  was  so  in  the  days  of  the 
Montezumas,  and  is  so  to  a  remarkable  degree 
under  the  civilization  which  has  started  its  modern 
development  in  California.  “  Solomon  in  all  his 
glory  was  not  arrayed”  more  gorgeously  than  the 
king  of  the  Aztecs;  nor  were  the  presents  from  the 


LUXURIES  AND  ATTRACTIONS. 


127 

Queen  of  Sheba  to  King  Solomon  as  great  in  value 
as  those  from  Montezuma  to  Cortez. 

Bancroft  states  that  Montezuma  changed  his 
dress  four  times  each  day,  and  a  dress  worn  once 
could  never  be  used  again. * 

The  same  historian  says,  in  his  description  of 
Montezuma’s  palace :  “  The  dinner-service  was  of 
the  finest  ware  of  Cholula,  and  many  of  the  goblets 
were  of  gold  and  silver,  or  fashioned  of  beautiful 
shells.  He  is  said  to  have  possessed  a  complete  set 
of  solid  gold ;  but  as  it  was  considered  below’  a 
king’s  dignity  to  use  anything  at  table  twice,  Mon¬ 
tezuma;  with  all  his  extravagance,  was  obliged  to 
keep  this  costly  dinner-set  in  the  temple.  The  bill 
of  fare  comprised  everything  edible  of  fish,  flesh, 
and  fowl  that  could  be  procured  in  the  empire  or 
imported  from  beyond  it.”f  No  country  but  one 
rich  in  resources  would  beget  the  luxurious  customs 
so  prevalent  in  the  Aztec  civilization.  Bancroft 
says  :  “  The  excessive  fondness  of  the  Aztecs  for 
feasts  and  amusements  of  every  kind,  seems  to 
have  extended  through  all  ranks  of  society.  Every 
man  feasted  his  neighbor,  and  was  himself  in  turn 
feasted.  Birthdays,  victories,  house-warmings,  suc¬ 
cessful  voyages  or  speculations,  and  other  events 
too  numerous  to  enumerate  were  celebrated  with 


*  “  Native  Races,”  ii.  179. 
f  Bancroft’s  “  Native  Races,”  ii.  174,  175. 


128 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


feasts.  Every  man,  from  king  to  peasant,  con¬ 
sidered  it  incumbent  upon  him  to  be  second  to 
none  among  his  equals  in  the  giving  of  banquets 
and  entertainments.”*  Young  nations  seldom  en¬ 
joy  the  same  degree  of  luxury  that  has  been  at¬ 
tained  by  older  ones,  where  wealth  has  accumu¬ 
lated.  A  large  portion  of  the  first  century  of  the 
United  States,  as  well  as  many  previous  years  of 
colonial  experience,  was  unaccompanied  by  lux¬ 
urious  living.  The  New  England  settlers  had  to 
do  chiefly  with  the  trials,  privations,  the  stern  re¬ 
alities  and  prose  of  life ;  and  what  luxuries  are 
now'  enjoyed  by  their  descendants  were  of  exceed¬ 
ingly  slow  growth.  But  the  character  of  the  soil 
and  climate  of  New  England,  more  than  its  youth, 
was  the  barrier  to  luxurious  living,  as  the  short  ex¬ 
perience  and  rapid  attainment  of  wealth  and  luxury 
of  California  most  conclusively  proves.  Had  the 
energetic  and  thrifty  Pilgrims  entered  America  in 
the  Southwest  instead  of  the  Northeast,  the  early 
history  of  this  country  would  have  been  far  more 
brilliant.  Now  the  Anglo-American  civilization  has 
extended  across  the  continent,  with  its  accumula¬ 
tion  of  experience  and  skill,  and  has  commenced 
operations  on  the  borders  of  New  Spain,  it  will  be 
an  interesting  spectacle  to  watch  the  results.  It  is 


*  Bancroft’s  “  Native  Races,”  ii.  283. 


LUXURIES  AND  ATTRACTIONS. 


I29 


reasonable  to  presume  the  development  will  be 
more  prolific  in  luxuries  than  any  portion  of  North 
America,  outside  of  New  Spain,  has  ever  known. 

During  the  past  few  years  much  has  been  said  by 
the  press  of  this  country  about  the  annual  exodus 
to  Europe  of  the  rich,  the  tourists,  and  pleasure- 
seekers,  and  the  amount  of  money  spent  there  each 
year  by  Americans  has  been  estimated  to  be  very 
many  millions  of  dollars.  The  remedy  proposed  is 
to  make  home  more  attractive.  But  money  spent 
on  improvements  will  not  change  the  New  England 
climate  or  that  of  river  valleys ;  nor  will  it  create 
mountain  scenery  where  it  does  not  already  exist. 
The  true  way  to  prevent  the  continual  outflow  of 
capita]  is  to  develop  that  portion  of  America  where 
nature  has  provided  luxuries  in  great  abundance; 
and  New  Spain  is  endowed  to  profusion  with  the 

many  qualities  which  add  luxury  to  life. 

6* 


130 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  AUTHORITIES. 

The  Southwest,  or  New  Spain,  is  as  rich  in 
written  history  as  in  silver  and  gold.  It  has  fur¬ 
nished  the  world  with  as  many  volumes  as  the 
Northeast,  or  New  England.  But  a  glance  at  the 
book-shelves  of  libraries  in  the  United  States  does 
not  confirm  this  assertion,  for  the  reason  that  the 
larger  portion  were  published  in  Spanish  and  are 
not  generally  translated  or  known  in  this  country. 
Again,  of  the  many  books  in  English  on  Mexico,  a 
large  portion  were  published  in  England,  and  many 
of  them  are  little  known  in  America.  The  Library 
of  Congress,  however,  is  an  exception,  for  it  con¬ 
tains  nearly  every  work  in  English  which  has  ever 
been  published  on  Mexico,  or  the  States  and  Terri¬ 
tories  of  the  cessions  to  the  United  States.  There 
may  be  a  few  other  libraries  which  contain  nearly 
complete  sets  of  English  authorities  on  New  Spain, 
but  these  collections  are  not  sufficiently  numerous 
or  accessible  to  answer  the  wants  of  the  business 
community,  which  is  being  attracted  more  than  ever 
before  toward  the  great  Southwest  and  its  material 


THE  A  U THORITIES. 


131 

development.  Authorities  are  coming  into  demand, 
but  are  difficult  to  find.  Books  on  some  distant 
foreign  lands  are  probably  more  generally  known 
in  this  country  than  those  on  Mexico,  and  for  the 
reason  that  the  business  intercourse  between  the 
two  republics  has  been  very  limited.  Mexico’s 
chief  want  is  to  be  known,  and  when  it  is  thor¬ 
oughly  known  to  the  Anglo-Americans,  her  won¬ 
derful  riches  and  attractions  will  attract  the  much- 
needed  thrifty  civilization. 

The  books  written  in,  or  translated  into,  English 
are  the  only  ones  of  much  practical  value  to  the 
business  community;  but  a  brief  description  of  the 
books  of  the  native  races  and  their  conquerors,  the 
Spanish,  may  not  be  uninteresting. 

Bancroft,  in  describing  the  Aztec  system  of  writ¬ 
ing,  says  that  they  “  derived  their  system  tradition¬ 
ally  from  the  Toltecs,  whose  written  annals  they 
also  inherited.”*  Humboldt  says:  “The  Mexi¬ 
cans  were  in  possession  of  annals  that  went  back  to 
eight  centuries  and  a  half  beyond  the  epocha  of  the 
arrival  of  Cortez  in  the  country  of  Anahuac.”  f 
We  have  seen,  in  the  chapter  on  silver  and  gold, 
how  proficient  the  Toltecs  were  in  the  arts,  and  it 
is  to  be  presumed  that  their  advanced  civilization 
reached  as  far  as  their  records  and  histories.  For- 


*  “  Natives  Races  of  Pacific  States,”  ii.  S2^- 
f  See  Baron  Humboldt’s  “  Researches  in  America,”  p.  297. 


132 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


tunately  we  find  more  information  about  the  re¬ 
cords  of  the  Aztecs.  Prescott  says:  “At  the  time 
of  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  great  quantities  of 
these  manuscripts  were  treasured  up  in  the  country; 
numerous  persons  were  employed  in  painting,  and 
the  dexterity  of  their  operations  excited  the  aston¬ 
ishment  of  the  conquerors.  Unfortunately  this  was 
mingled  with  other  and  unworthy  feelings.  The 
strange,  unknown  characters  inscribed  on  them  ex¬ 
cited  suspicion.”  *  *  *  “  The  first  archbishop 

of  Mexico  collected  these  paintings  from  every 
quarter,  especially  from  Tezcuco,  the  most  culti¬ 
vated  capital  in  Anahuac,  and  the  great  depository 
of  the  national  archives.  He  then  caused  them  to 
be  piled  up  in  a  4  mountain  heap,’  as  it  is  called  by 
the  Spanish  writers  themselves,  in  the  market-place 
of  Tlateloco,  and  reduced  them  all  to  ashes.”  *  He 
further  says  of  the  Aztec  manuscripts  :  “  They  were 
sometimes  done  up  into  rolls,  but  more  frequently 
into  volumes  of  moderate  size,  in  which  the  paper 
was  shut  up  like  a  folding  screen,  with  a  leaf  or 
tablet  of  wood  at  each  extremity  that  gave  the 
whole,  when  closed,  the  appearance  of  a  book.”  f 
Bancroft  says  of  the  Aztec  books  :  “  Respecting  the 
historical  value  of  the  destroyed  documents,  it  is 
safe  to  believe  that  they  contained  all  that  the 

*  “  Conquest  of  Mexico,”  by  Prescott,  i.  ioi. 

\  Idem,  i.  ioo. 


THE  A  UTHORITIES . 


133 


Aztecs  knew  of  their  past.  Having  once  conceived 
the  idea  of  recording  their  annals,  and  having  a 
system  of  writing  adequate  to  the  purpose,  it  is 
inconceivable  that  they  failed  to  record  all  they 
knew.”  * 

Lord  Kingsborough’s  remarkable  illustrated  work 
on  the  antiquities  of  Mexico  contains  fac-similes  of 
about  a  dozen  of  these  Aztec  books,  or  original 
hieroglyphic  paintings.  They  contain  about  seven¬ 
ty-five  pages  each.  A  glance  at  them  is  sufficient 
to  satisfy  one  that  the  native  races  were  quite  pro¬ 
ficient  in  the  making  of  records  and  histories,  and 
that  if  we  had  access  to  all  the  books  they  wrote 
a  flood  of  light  would  be  let  in  upon  the  ancient 
history  of  the  Southwest.  The  destruction  of  this 
classic  history  of  North  America  is  a  loss  which  is 
more  keenly  felt  now  that  the  historians  are  striving 
to  trace  back,  as  far  as  possible,  the  history  of  the 
early  civilization  of  a  nation  which  is  to-day  one  of 
the  leading  ones  of  the  earth. 

The  Spanish  were  very  prolific  writers,  and  dur¬ 
ing  their  supremacy  in  New  Spain,  from  the  Con¬ 
quest  in  1521  to  their  downfall  in  1821,  furnished 
the  world  with  a  vast  number  of  volumes  on  that 
attractive  country.  Some  few  have  been  translated, 
but  the  most  are  still  in  Spanish,  and  inaccessible 


*  “  Native  Races  of  Pacific  States/’  ii.  528. 


134 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


to  the  general  reader.  Bancroft’s  account  of  his 
own  collection,  made  while  preparing  his  most 
valuable  work  on  the  “  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific 
States,”  shows  how  numerous  are  the  works  in 
Spanish.  He  says,  in  the  introduction  to  his  his¬ 
tory:  “  To  some  it  may  be  of  interest  to  know  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  author’s  resources  for  writ¬ 
ing  so  important  a  series  of  works.  The  books  and 
manuscripts  necessary  for  the  task  existed  in  no 
library  in  the  world  ;  hence,  in  1859,  lie  commenced 
collecting  material  relative  to  the  Pacific  States. 
After  securing  everything  in  his  reach  in  America, 
he  twice  visited  Europe,  spending  about  two  years 
in  thorough  researches  in  England  and  the  chief 
cities  of  the  continent.  Having  exhausted  every 
available  source,  he  was  obliged  to  content  himself 
with  lying  in  wait  for  opportunities.  Not  long 
afterward,  and  at  a  time  when  the  prospect  of  ma¬ 
terially  adding  to  his  collection  seemed  anything 
but  hopeful,  the  Biblioteca  Imperial  de  Mejico  of  the 
unfortunate  Maximilian,  collected  during  a  period 
of  forty  years,  by  Don  Jose  Maria  Andrade,  lit¬ 
terateur  and  publisher,  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  was 
thrown  on  the  European  market,  and  furnished 
him  about  three  thousand  additional  volumes.  In 
1869,  having  accumulated  some  sixteen  thousand 
books,  manuscripts,  and  pamphlets,  besides  maps 


THE  A  U THORITIES. 


135 

and  cumbersome  files  of  Pacific  coast  journals,  he 
determined  to  go  to  work.”* 

Of  this  collection  a  large  number  are  in  Spanish  ; 
and  as  the  work  is  mainly  on  the  native  races  who 
inhabited  the  same  country  which  afterward  con¬ 
stituted  New  Spain,  a  large  portion  of  the  collec¬ 
tion  must  necessarily  relate  to  the  Southwest. 
Large  as  is  this  library,  it  would  be  much  more 
extensive  if  it  contained  all  the  Spanish  books  and 
manuscripts  on  the  various  portions  of  New  Spain. 
The  historian  of  Texas  expresses  the  opinion  that 
there  are  in  existence  many  authorities  in  Spanish 
on  that  State  which  he  was  unable  to  obtain,  viz. : 
“  The  correspondence  of  the  Franciscan  Friars 
from  1716  to  1794  is  believed  to  be  in  the  parent 
convents  of  Oueretaro  and  Zacatecas.  This  would 

/V 

throw  a  flood  of  light  upon  that  subject.”  Second, 
“  The  thirty  folio  volumes  covering  the  transactions 
in  Texas,  for  the  first  half  century  of  its  history, 
were  forwarded  to  the  king  of  Spain  in  1744,  and 
are  probably  in  the  archives  of  Salamanca,  in 
Spain.”  f  As  the  Southwest  increases  in  civiliza¬ 
tion  and  wealth,  these  old  Spanish  records  and 
manuscripts  will  be  more  and  more  sought  for,  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  some  American  institution  will 
yet  possess  a  full  set  of  Spanish  authorities. 


*  From  Preface  of  “  Native  Races,”  i. 
f  See  introduction  to  Yoakum’s  “  History  of  Texas.” 


X3 6  THE  silver  country. 

But  the  works  in  English  are  the  ones  of  greatest 
practical  value.  The  following  list  of  authorities 
is  probably  nearly  all  the  works  yet  published  in 
the  English  language  on  the  history,  resources, 
voyages,  expeditions,  and  surveys  and  antiquities 
of  New  Spain.  But  it  does  not  embrace  all  the 
books  on  the  Indian  tribes,  town  and  city  history, 
works  on  the  war  between  the  United  States  and 
Mexico,  legislative  documents,  pamphlets,  Mormon 
history  of  Utah — the  northern  state  of  New  Spain — 
nor  the  various  reports  on  the  proposed  Tehuante¬ 
pec  interoceanic  canal  across  the  southern  State  of 
New  Spain.  With  a  very  few  exceptions,  all  of  the 
books  in  the  list  are  to  be  found  in  the  Library  of 
Congress.  As  but  few  of  the  other  public  libra¬ 
ries  of  the  United  States  contain  complete,  or  even 
nearly  complete  sets  of  authorities  on  the  South¬ 
west,  the  names  of  the  publishers  of  the  respective 
publications  are  given  in  the  list. 

All  of  the  books  mentioned  in  the  list,  except 
the  few  designated  by  a  star  following  the  name  of 
the  author,  have  been  examined,  and  the  titles 
taken  from  the  title-pages.  The  few  thus  desig¬ 
nated,  and  which  we  have  been  unable  to  find,  are 
nearly  all  English  publications,  and  the  names  and 
titles  are  taken  from  the  English  and  British  cata¬ 
logues  of  publications: 


THE  A  U THORITIES. 


137 


THE  AUTHORITIES  ON  MEXICO. 

Abbott ,  Gorham  D. — Mexico  and  the  U nited  States. 
New  York,  1869.  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Son.  It  treats 
of  the  Catholic  church;  the  government;  Juarez 
and  his  cabinet ;  interoceanic  canals ;  the  Monroe 
doctrine  ;  and  gives  a  copy  of  the  Constitution  of 
Mexico. 

Alar  chon,  Fernando. — Voyage  along  the  Gulf  of 
California  in  1540.  In  Hakluyt’s  Voyages,  iii.  505. 

Alvensleben ,  Max ,  Baron  Von. — With  Maximilian 
in  Mexico.  London,  1867.  Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 

Barinetti ,  C. — A  Voyage  to  Mexico  and  Havana. 
New  York,  1841.  Printed  for  author. 

Baz,  Gustavo ,  and  E.  L.  Gallo. — History  of  the 
Mexican  Railway.  Mexico,  1876.  Gallo  &  Co. 

Beaufoy ,  Mark.— Mexican  Illustrations.  London, 
1828.  Carpenter  &  Son. 

Bishop ,  Anna. — Travels  in  Mexico,  1849.  Phila¬ 
delphia,  Charles  Deall.  This  chiefly  on  society  of 
Mexico. 

Browne,  J.  Ross. — A  sketch  of  the  settlement 
and  exploration  of  Lower  California.  In  his  book 
on  “  The  Resources  of  the  Pacific  States.” 

Bullock,  W.  H. — Across  Mexico,  in  1864-1865. 
London,  1866.  McMillan  &  Co. 

Bullock,  W. — Six  Months’  Residence  and  Travels 
in  Mexico.  2  vols.  London,  1825.  John  Murray. 


138 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


It  contains  a  fine  illustration  of  the  valley  and 
city  of  Mexico. 

Calderon  de  la  Barca ,  Madame. — Life  in  Mexico. 
London,  1843.  Chapman  &  Hall.  2  vols.  Is  de¬ 
scriptive  of  Mexican  society,  and  a  leading  work 
on  that  subject. 

Carpenter,  Win .  W. — Travels  and  Adventures 
in  Mexico.  New  York,  1851.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Catherwood,  F. — Views  of  Ancient  Monuments 
in  Central  America,  Chiapas,  and  Yucatan.  New 
York,  1844.  Bartlett  &  Welford.  A  magnificent 
illustrated  work. 

Champlain,  Samuel. — Narrative  of  a  Voyage  to 
the  West  Indies  and  Mexico,  in  the  Years  1599- 
1602.  With  maps  and  illustrations.  Hakluyt  So¬ 
ciety  Publication,  vol.  23. 

Chevalier,  M.  Michel. — Mexico,  Ancient  and 
Modern.  London,  1864.  John  Maxwell  &  Co. 
2  vols.  It  gives  a  full  account  of  the  Maximilian 
programme. 

Chevalier,  Michel. — Mexico  before  and  after  the 
Conquest.  Philadelphia,  1826.  Carey  &  Hart. 

Chipman,  C. — Mineral  Resources  of  Northern 
Mexico.  New  York,  1868.  Baker  &  Godwin, 
printers. 

Church ,  Geo.  EF — Historical  and  Political  Review 
of  Mexico  and  its  Revolutions. 

Chynowesly* — The  Fall  of  Maximilian,  1872. 


THE  A  U THORITIES. 


1 39 


Cincinnatus .*• — Travels  in  the  Western  Slope  of 
the  Mexican  Cordillera.  San  Francisco,  1867. 

Clavigcro ,  Francesco  Saverio. — History  of  Mex¬ 
ico.  3  vols.  Translated  from  the  Italian  by  C. 
Cullen.  Philadelphia,  1817.  Thomas  Dobson. 

Cluscrct ,  G. — Mexico  and  the  Solidarity  of  Na¬ 
tions.  New  York,  1866.  Blackwell,  printer. 

Cortez ,  Hernando . — The  Dispatches  of  Hernan¬ 
do  Cortez,  the  Conqueror  of  Mexico,  addressed 
to  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  ;  written  during  the 
Conquest,  and  containing  a  Narrative  of  its  Events. 
New  York,  1843.  Wiley  &  Putnam. 

Dalton ,  Win, — Stories  of  the  Conquest  of  Mex¬ 
ico  and  Peru.  London,  1874.  James  Blackwood 
&  Co. 

Diaz,  Bernal. — The  Memoirs  of  the  Conquesta- 
dor  Bernal  Diaz  del  Castillo,  written  by  himself, 
containing  a  true  and  full  account  of  the  Discovery 
and  Conquest  of  Mexico  and  New  Spain.  2  vols. 
London,  1844.  J*  Hatchard  &  Son. 

Dilworth ,  W.  H. — The  History  of  the  Conquest 
of  Mexico,  by  the  celebrated  Hernan  Cortez.  Glas¬ 
gow,  1785.  Printed  for  the  booksellers. 

Dunbar,  E.  E. — The  Mexican  Papers.  New 
York,  i860.  J.  A.  H.  Hasbrouck  &  Co.,  printers. 

Egloffstcm,  F.  W.,  Baron. — Contributions  to  the 
Geology  and  the  Physical  Geography  of  Mexico. 
New  York,  1864.  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 


140 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Elton ,  J.  F. — With  the  French  in  Mexico.  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  1867.  J.  P.  Lippincott  &  Co. 

Evans ,  A.  S. — Our  Sister  Republic  ;  a  gala  Trip 
through  tropical  Mexico  in  1869-1870.  Hartford, 
1870.  Columbian  Book  Co.  Is  observations  of  the 
author  while  traveling  as  one  of  Hon.  W.  H.  Sew¬ 
ard’s  party. 

Farnham ,  T.  J. — Mexico  :  its  Geography,  its  Peo¬ 
ple,  and  its  Institutions.  New  York,  1846.  H. 
Long  &  Brother. 

Ferguson  s  Anecdotical  Guide  to  Mexico.  Phila¬ 
delphia,  1876.  Claxton,  Remsen  &  Haffelfinger. 

Ferry,  Gabriel. — Vagabond  Life  in  Mexico.  New 
York,  1856.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Flint ,  Henry  M. — Mexico  under  Maximilian. 
New  York,  1867.  National  Publishing  Co.  A  de¬ 
fense  of  Maximilian’s  rule. 

Folsom. — Mexico  in  1842.  New  York,  1842. 
Wiley  &  Putnam. 

Froebel,  J. — Seven  Years’  Travel  in  Central  Amer¬ 
ica,  Northern  Mexico,  and  the  Far  West  of  the 
United  States.  London,  1869.  Richard  Bentley. 
This  is  chiefly  on  Northern  Mexico,  and  the  terri¬ 
tory  ceded  to  the  United  States. 

Frost,  John. — Pictorial  History  of  Mexico  and 
the  Mexican  War.  Philadelphia,  1848.  James  A. 
Bill. 

Gage ,  Thomas. — A  New  Survey  of  the  West 


THE  A  U THORITIE S. 


I4I 

Indies.  A  journey  of  3,300  miles  within  the  main¬ 
land  of  America.  London,  1655.  E.  Cotes. 

Gallatin,  Albert . — Notes  on  the  Semi-civilized 
Nations  of  Mexico,  Yucatan,  and  Central  America. 
In  Transactions  of  American  Ethnological  Society, 
vol.  i. 

Geiger,  John  L. — A  Peep  at  Mexico.  London, 
1874.  Trtibner  &  Co.  It  contains  forty-five  pho¬ 
tographs  of  places. 

Gilliam,  Albert  M. — Travels  over  the  Table-lands 
and  Cordilleras  of  Mexico.  Philadelphia,  1846. 
John  W.  Moore. 

Godcy,  D. — Things  most  Remarkable  observed 
by  the  Spanish  at  their  First  Coming  to  Mex¬ 
ico.  In  Purchas’s  Pilgrims,  iii.,  p.  1123  and  fol¬ 
lowing. 

Gordon,  T.  F. — The  History  of  Ancient  Mexico. 
2  vols.  Philadelphia,  1832.  Published  for  the 
author. 

Gregory  s  History  of  Mexico.  Boston,  1847.  F. 
Gleason. 

Hall,  Basil. — Extracts  from  a  Journal  written  on 
the  Coasts  of  Chili,  Peru,  and  Mexico,  in  the  years 
1821  and  1822.  2  vols.  Edinburgh.  Printed  by 

Archibald  Constable  &  Co. 

Halls  of  the  Montezumas  ;  or,  Mexico  in  Ancient 
and  Modern  Times.  New  York,  1848.  J.  C.  Bur¬ 
dick. 


142 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Hardy ,  R.  W.  Id. — Travels  in  the  Interior  of 
Mexico  in  1825,  ’26,  ’27,  and  ’28.  London,  1829. 
Henry  Colburn  &  Richard  Bentley. 

Haven,  Gilbert. — Our  Next-Door  Neighbor ;  a 
Winter  in  Mexico.  New  York,  1875.  Harper  & 
Brothers. 

Helps ,  Arthur. — The  Spanish  Conquest  in  Amer¬ 
ica,  and  its  Relation  to  the  History  of  Slavery  and 
to  the  Government  of  the  Colonies.  4  vols.  Lon¬ 
don,  1855-61.  J.  W.  Parker  &  Son.  A  portion  of 
this  treats  of  Mexico. 

Hill,  S.  S. — Travels  in  Peru  and  Mexico.  2  vols. 
London,  i860.  Longman,  Green,  Longman  & 
Roberts. 

Humboldt,  Alex,  de  {Bar on). — Political  Essay  on 
New  Spain.  4  vols.  London,  1822.  Longman, 
Hurst,  Rees,  Orme  &  Brown.  This  is  the  most 
elaborate  treatise  on  the  resources  of  the  South¬ 
west,  or  New  Spain,  that  has  ever  been  published. 
Its  review  of  the  products  of  the  precious  metals 
from  the  conquest  to  1804  has  been  used  as  a  basis 
for  most  all  subsequent  estimates. 

Humboldt,  Alex.  de. — Researches  concerning  the 
Institutions  and  Monuments  of  the  Ancient  In¬ 
habitants  of  America.  London,  1814.  Longman, 
Hurst,  Rees,  Orme  &  Brown. 

Kingsborough  {Lord). — Antiquities  of  Mexico, 
comprising  fac-similes  of  ancient  Mexican  paint- 


THE  A  U  THOR  I  TIES. 


143 


ings  and  hieroglyphics  preserved  in  the  Royal 
Libraries  of  Paris,  Berlin,  and  Dresden  :  in  the  Im¬ 
perial  Library  of  Vienna  ;  in  the  Vatican  Library  ; 
in  the  Borgian  Museum  at  Rome  ;  in  the  Library 
of  the  Institute  at  Bologna  ;  and  in  the  Bodleian 
Library  at  Oxford,  together  with  the  monuments 
of  New  Spain,  by  M.  Dupaix,  with  their  respective 
scales  of  measurement  and  accompanying  descrip¬ 
tions.  The  whole  illustrated  by  many  valuable  un¬ 
edited  MSS.,  by  Augustine  Aglio.  In  9  vols.  Lon¬ 
don,  1830.  A.  Aglia.  This  is  one  of  the  costli¬ 
est  and  most  magnificent  works  ever  published  in 
the  world.  Allibone  says  that  the  preparation  of 
the  first  seven  volumes  cost  ,£32,000  or  $160,000.* 

Kingsley ,  Miss. — South  by  West  ;  or,  Winter 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  Spring  in  Mexico. 
London,  1874.  W.  dsbeter  &  Co. 

Kollonitz ,  Paula  {Countess'). — The  Court  of  Mex¬ 
ico.  London,  1867.  Saunders,  Otley  &  Co. 

Latrobe ,  J. — The  Rambler  in  Mexico.  New 
York,  1836.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Lempriere ,  C. — Notes  on  Mexico  in  1861  and 
1862,  politically  and  socially  considered.  London, 
1862.  Longman,  Green,  Longman,  Roberts  & 
Green. 

Lower  California  :  Its  Geography  and  Character- 


*  See  Allibone’s  “  Dictionary  of  Authors,”  and  “  Bibliotheca  Amer¬ 
icana  Nova,”  by  O.  Rich,  p.  234. 


144 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


istics,  with  a  sketch  of  the  grant  and  purposes  of 
the  Lower  California  Company.  New  York,  1868. 
M.  B.  Brown  &  Co.,  Printers. 

Lyon,  G.  F. — Journal  of  a  Residence  and  Tour 
in  the  Republic  of  Mexico  in  the  Year  1826.  2 

vols.  London,  1828.  John  Murray. 

Lyon,  G.  F. —  The  Sketch-Book  during  Eight 
Months’  Residence  in  the  Republic  of  Mexico. 
New  York,  1827.  J.  Dickinson.  A  collection  of 
curious  and  interesting  pictures. 

McShcrry ,  Richard. — El  Puchero  ;  or,  a  Mixed 
Dish  from  Mexico.  Philadelphia,  1850.  Lippin- 
cott,  Grambo  &  Co. 

Mason,  R.  H. — Pictures  of  Life  in  Mexico.  2 
vols.  London,  1852.  Smith,  Elder  &  Co. 

Mayer ,  Brantz. — Mexico  ;  Aztec,  Spanish,  and 
Republican.  A  historical,  geographical,  political, 
statistical,  and  social  account  of  that  country.  2 
vols.  Hartford,  1852.  S.  Drake  &  Co.  This  is  the 
most  elaborate  history  of  Mexico  in  the  English 
language. 

Mayer,  Brantz. — Observations  on  Mexican  His¬ 
tory  and  Archaeology.  Washington,  1856.  In 
Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge,  vol.  ix. 

Mayer,  Brantz. — Mexico  as  it  Was  and  as  it  Is. 
Philadelphia,  1847.  G.  B.  Zieber. 

Menonville ,  M.,  Nicholas,  Joseph  Thierry  de. — Tra¬ 
vels  to  Guaxaca.  In  Pinkerton’s  Voyages,  vol.  xiii. 


THE  A  U THORITIES. 


145 


Mexico:  The  Country,  History,  and  People.  Lon¬ 
don,  1863.  Published  by  the  Religious  Tract  So¬ 
ciety. 

Mexico:  A  Trip  to;  or,  Recollections  of  a  Ten 
Months’  Ramble.  By  a  Barrister.  London,  1851. 
Smith,  Elder  &  Co. 

Mexico:  The  Modern  Traveller.  A  popular  De¬ 
scription,  Geographical,  Historical  and  Topographi¬ 
cal.  2  vols.  Boston,  1830.  Wells  &  Lilly. 

Mexico  :  A  Sketch  of  the  Customs  and  Society 
during  1824,  1825,  and  1826.  London,  1828.  Long¬ 
man  &  Co. 

Mill ,  Nicholas. — History  of  Mexico.  London, 
1824.  Sherwood,  Jones  &  Co. 

Niles ,  John  M. — History  of  South  America  and 
Mexico,  *  *  *  to  which  is  annexed  a  Geographical 
and  Historical  View  of  Texas,  by  L.  T.  Pease.  2 
vols.  Hartford,  1839.  H.  Huntington,  Jr. 

Norman,  B.  M. — Rambles  by  Land  and  Water ; 
or,  Notes  of  Travel  in  Cuba  and  Mexico.  New 
York,  1845.  Paine  &  Burgess. 

Philips ,  M. — Voyage  to  Mexico  in  1568.  In  Hak¬ 
luyt’s  Voyages,  vol.  iii.,  p.  558. 

Phillips,  John. — Mexico  Illustrated  in  Twenty-six 
Drawings.  London.  E.  Atchley.  A  collection  of 
large  and  magnificent  lithographs,  illustrating  build¬ 
ings,  cities,  and  scenery  in  Mexico. 

Poinsett,  J.  R. — Notes  on  Mexico  in  the  Autumn 

7 


146 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


of  1 822,  accompanied  by  a  historical  Sketch  of  the 
Revolution.  Philadelphia,  1824.  H.  C.  Carey  &  I. 
Lea. 

Prescott,  W.  H. — History  of  the  Conquest  of 
Mexico,  with  a  Preliminary  View  of  the  Ancient 
American  Civilization  and  the  Life  of  the  Con¬ 
queror,  Hernando  Cortez.  3  vols.  New  York,  1849. 
Harper  &  Brothers. 

Rankin ,  Malinda. — Twenty  Years  among  the 
Mexicans.  Cincinnati,  1875.  Chase  &  Hall. 

Ranking ,  John. — Historical  Researches  on  the 
Conquest  of  Peru  and  Mexico,  Bogota,  Natchez, 
and  Talomeco  in  the  Thirteenth  Century,  by  the 
Mongols,  accompanied  with  Elephants.  London, 
1827.  Longman,  Rees,  Orme,  Brown  &  Green. 
This  contains  an  interesting  description  of  the  an¬ 
cient  city  of  Mexico. 

Report  of  the  Committee  of  Investigation  sent  in 
1873  by  the  Mexican  Government  to  the  Frontier 
of  Texas.  New  York,  1875.  Baker  &  Godwin, 
printers. 

Robertson ,  Wm.  P. — A  Visit  to  Mexico.  2  vols. 
London,  1853.  Simpkin,  Marshall  &  Co. 

Robinson ,  F. — Mexico  and  her  Military  Chieftains, 
from  the  Revolution  of  Hidalgo  to  the  Present 
Time.  Philadelphia,  1847.  E.  H.  Butler  &  Co. 

Robinson ,  W.  D. — Memoirs  of  the  Mexican  Revo¬ 
lution.  Philadelphia,  1820.  Printed  for  the  author. 


THE  A  U  THOR! TIES. 


H  7 


Ruxton,  G.  F. — Adventures  in  Mexico  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  New  York,  1848.  Harper  & 
Brothers. 

Salm  Sctlm ,  F.  ( Prince .) — My  Diary  in  Mexico  in 
1861,  including  the  Last  Days  of  the  Emperor 
Maximilian,  with  Leaves  from  the  Diary  of  Prin¬ 
cess  Salm  Salm.  2  vols.  London,  1868. 

Sartorius ,  C. — Mexico  :  Landscapes  and  Popular 
Sketches.  London,  1859.  Triibner  &  Co.  Very 
finely  illustrated. 

Shepard ,  A.  K. — The  Land  of  the  Aztecs;  or, 
Two  Years  in  Mexico.  Albany,  1859.  Weed,  Par¬ 
sons  &  Co. 

Shufeldt ,  Robert  W.,  Captain  U ’.  S .  Navy . — Re¬ 
ports  of  Explorations  and  Surveys  to  ascertain  the 
Practicability  of  a  Ship  Canal  between  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  Oceans  by  the  way  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Tehuantepec.  Washington,  1872. 

Simon ,  B.  A .  {Mrs.) — The  Ten  Tribes  of  Israel 
historically  identified  with  the  Aborigines  of  the 
Western  Hemisphere.  London,  1836.  R.  B.  Seeley 
&  W.  Burnside.  This  chiefly  on  Mexico. 

Skinner ,  J.  E.  H. — After  the  Storm  ;  or,  Jonathan 
and  his  Neighbors  in  1865-1866.  2  vols.  London, 

1866.  Richard  Bentley.  Part  of  vol.  ii.  is  on 
Mexico. 

Solis ,  Antonio  de. — History  of  the  Conquest  of 
Mexico  by  the  Spaniards.  2  vols.  London,  1753. 


148 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


On  page  317  of  vol.  i.  there  is  a  fine  view  of  the 
ancient  Aztec  city  of  Mexico. 

Stephens ,  John  L. — Incidents  of  Travel  in  Central 
America,  Chiapa,  and  Yucatan.  2  vols.  New  York, 
1841.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Stephens ,  John  L. — Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yuca¬ 
tan.  2  vols.  New  York,  1843.  Harper  &  Brothers. 
Illustrated  by  120  engravings. 

Sqnier ,  E.  G. — Observations  on  the  Chalchihuitl 
of  Mexico  and  Central  America.  New  York,  1869. 

Steipp,  W.  P. — The  Prisoners  of  Perote.  Phila¬ 
delphia,  1845.  G.  B.  Zieber  &  Co. 

Teiylor,  A.  S . — Settlement  and  Exploration  of 
Lower  California.  In  Ross  Browne’s  “  Resources 
of  Pacific  States.” 

Tempsky,  G.  F.  von. — Mitla;  a  Narrative  of  Inci¬ 
dents  and  Personal  Adventures  on  a  Journey  in 
Mexico,  Guatemala,  and  Salvador.  London,  1858. 
Longman,  Brown,  Green,  Longmans  &  Roberts. 

Thompson ,  Waddy .  —  Recollections  of  Mexico. 
New  York,  1846.  Wiley  &  Putnam. 

Tomson ,  Robert ,  The  Voyage  of,  to  New  Spain, 

1 5 5 5-  Hakluyt’s  Voyages,  vol.  iii.,  p.  531  and 
following. 

Ty/or,  Edward  i?.— Anahuac  ;  or,  Mexico  and  the 
Mexicans,  Ancient  and  Modern.  London,  1861. 
Longman,  Green,  Longman  &  Roberts. 

Ulloa ,  Francisco. — Voyage  from  Acapulco  up  the 


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149 

Western  Coast  of  Mexico  in  1539.  In  Hakluyt’s 
Voyages,  iii.,  p.  473. 

Vigne,  G.  T. — Travels  in  Mexico,  South  Amer¬ 
ica,  etc.  London,  1863.  2  vols.  W.  H.  Allen 

&  Co. 

Wallace,  Lew. — The  Fair  God;  or,  The  Last  of 
the  Tzins.  A  tale  of  the  conquest  of  Mexico. 
Boston,  1873.  James  R.  Osgood  &  Co. 

Ward ,  H.  G. — Mexico  in  1827.  2  vols.  London, 
1828.  Henry  Colburn.  This  is  an  official  report 
to  the  British  Government  by  the  author,  who  was 
her  Majesty’s  Charge  d’Affaires  in  Mexico  from 
1825-1827.  Next  to  Baron  Humboldt’s  work,  it  is 
the  most  elaborate  work  on  the  resources  of  New 
Spain  in  the  English  language.  It  treats  very  fully 
of  the  precious  metals. 

Wilson ,  R.A. — A  New  History  of  the  Conquest 
of  Mexico.  Philadelphia,  1859.  James  Challen  & 
Son. 

Wilson ,  R.  A. — Mexico  and  its  Religion.  New 
York,  1855.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Young ,  Philip. — History  of  Mexico  from  1520  to 
1847.  Cincinnati,  1847.  J*  A.  &  U.  P.  James. 

THE  AUTHORITIES  ON  CALIFORNIA. 

Alls  op,  R* — California  and  its  Gold  Mines.  1853. 
Groombridge. 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


150 

Bancroft's  Tourist’s  Guide.  San  Francisco,  1871. 
A.  L.  Bancroft  &  Co. 

Binuey  * — California  Homes  for  Educated  Eng¬ 
lishmen.  1875.  Simp. 

Blake.* — Geological  Reconnoissance.  New  York, 
1859. 

Borthwick ,  J.  D. —  Three  Years  in  California. 

•  Edinburgh,  1857.  Wm.  Blackwood  &  Sons. 

Brace ,  C.  L. — The  New  West;  or,  California  in 
1867-1868.  New  York,  1869.  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Son. 

Brooks,  J.  T. — Four  Months  among  the  Gold- 
finders  in  Alta  California.  London,  1849.  E)avid 
Bogue. 

Bryant,  Edwin. — What  I  saw  in  California.  New 
York,  1848.  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

Buffum ,  E.  G. — Six  Months  in  the  Gold  Mines. 
Philadelphia,  1850.  Lea  &  Blanchard. 

California  :  *  its  Past  History,  its  Present  Posi¬ 
tion.  London,  1850. 

California  and  her  Gold  Regions.  (Anon.)  Phila¬ 
delphia,  1849.  G.  B.  Zieber,  Agent. 

California ,*  Life  in,  1846.  Wiley. 

California  :  *  Agricultural  Resources.  Troy, 
1856. 

C apron,  E.  S. — History  of  California  from  its 
Discovery  to  the  Present  Time.  Boston,  1854*  J* 
P.  Jewett  &  Co. 

Chappe  de  Auteroche,  J. — Voyage  to  California 


THE  A  UTHORITIES. 


151 

to  observe  the  Transit  of  Venus.  London,  1778. 
Printed  for  Edward  and  Charles  Dilly. 

Colton ,  Walter. — Three  Years  in  California.  New 
York,  1850.  A.  S.  Barnes  &  Co. 

Cone,  Mary. — Two  Years  in  California.  Chicago, 
1876.  S.  C.  Griggs  &  Co. 

Cronise,  T.F. — The  Natural  Wealth  of  California. 
San  Francisco,  1868.  H.  H.  Bancroft  &  Co. 

Cutts ,  J.  Madison. — The  Conquest  of  California 
and  New  Mexico.  Philadelphia,  1847.  Carey  &  Hart. 

Delano,  A. — Life  on  the  Plains  and  among  the 
Diggings  ;  an  Overland  Journey  to  California.  Au¬ 
burn,  1854.  Miller,  Orton  &  Mulligan. 

Drake ,  Sir  Francis. — Voyage  to  California.  In 
Hakluyt’s  Voyages,  iii.  523,  etc. 

Dunbar ,  Edzvard  E. — The  Romance  of  the  Age ; 
or,  The  Discovery  of  Gold  in  California.  New 
York,  1867.  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

Evans,  A.  S. — A  la  California  ;  Sketches  of  Life 
in  the  Golden  State.  San  Francisco,  1873.  A.  L. 
Bancroft  &  Co. 

Farnham,  J.  T. — The  Early  Days  of  California. 
Philadelphia,  1862.  John  E.  Potter. 

Farnham,  J.  T. — Life,  Adventures,  and  Travel  in 
California,  to  which  is  added  the  Conquest  of  Cali¬ 
fornia.  New  York,  1849.  Nafis  &  Cornish. 

Farnham,  E.  W. — California,  Indoors  and  Out. 
New  York,  1856.  Dix,  Edwards  &  Co. 


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Fisher ,  W.  M. — The  Californians.  New  York, 
1876.  Macmillan  &  Co. 

Foster ,  G .  G. — The  Gold  Regions  of  California. 
New  York,  1848.  Dewitt  &  Davenport. 

Fremont ,  J.  C. — Geographical  Memoir  of  Upper 
California.  Washington,  1848.  Sen.  Miscellaneous 
Doc.  148  ;  1st  sess.  30th  Congress. 

Fremont  and  Emory. — Notes  of  Travel  in  Califor¬ 
nia.  New  York,  1849.  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

Frost ,  John. — History  of  the  State  of  California. 
Auburn,  1850.  Derby  &  Miller. 

Frowd,  J.  G.  P. — Six  Months  in  California.  Lon¬ 
don,  1872.  Longman,  Green  &  Co. 

Greeley ,  Horace. — An  Overland  Journey  from  New 
York  to  San  Francisco.  New  York,  i860.  C.  M. 
Caxton,  Barker  &  Co. 

Greenhow,  R. — History  of  Oregon  and  California. 
Boston,  1844.  C.  C.  Little  &  James  Brown. 

Hittcll,  John  S. — The  Resources  of  California, 
San  Francisco,  1874.  A.  Roman  &  Co. 

Hittell,  John  S. — Yosemite.  Its  Wonders,  and  its 
Beauties.  San  Francisco,  1868.  H.  H.  Bancroft 
&  Co.  Illustrated  with  twenty  photographs. 

Helper ,  H.  R. — The  Land  of  Gold  ;  Reality  vs. 
Fiction.  New  York,  1855.  Henry  Taylor. 

Holmes,  Henry  A. — Our  Knowledge  of  California 
and  the  Northwest  Coast  one  Hundred  Years  since. 
Albany,  1870.  Joel  Munsell. 


THE  A  U  THORITIES. 


153 


How  to  get  Rich  in  California.  A  History  of  the 
Progress  and  present  Condition  of  the  Gold  and  Sil¬ 
ver  Mining  and  other  industrial  Interests.  Phila¬ 
delphia,  1876.  McMorris  &  Gans.  A  valuable  sta¬ 
tistical  work. 

Huntley ,  Sir  H. — California  :  its  Gold  and  its 
Inhabitants.  2  vols.  London,  1856.  Thomas  C. 
Newby. 

Hutchings ,  J.  M. — Scenes  of  Wonder  and  Curios¬ 
ity  in  California.  Illustrated  with  over  one  hun¬ 
dred  engravings.  A  Tourist’s  Guide  to  the  Yo- 
semite  Valley.  New  York,  and  San  Francisco, 
1870.  A.  Roman  &  Co. 

Johnson ,  T.  T. — Sights  in  the  Gold  Region. 
New  York,  1850.  Baker  &  Scribner. 

Kelley ,  Win. — An  Excursion  to  California.  Lon¬ 
don,  1851.  2  vols.  Chapman  &  Hall. 

Kneeland,  Samuel  (Pro/.). — The  Wonders  of  the 
Yosemite  Valley,  and  of  California.  Boston,  1871. 
Alexander  Moore.  It  contains  excellent  photo¬ 
graphic  views. 

Letts,  J.  M. — California  Illustrated.  New  York, 
1852.  W.  Holdrege.  It  contains  a  large  number 
of  fine  lithographic  views. 

Lyman ,  Albert. — Journal  of  a  Voyage  to  Califor¬ 
nia,  and  Life  in  the  Gold  Diggings.  Hartford,  1852. 
E.  T.  Pease. 

7* 


154 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


McCollum ,  W.  SP — California  as  I  saw  it.  Buf¬ 
falo,  1850. 

Marrycit,  Frank. — Mountains  and  Mole-Hills;  or, 
Recollections  of  a  Burnt  Journal.  New  York,  1855, 
Harper  &  Brothers. 

Nordhoff,  Charles. — Northern  California,  Oregon, 
and  the  Sandwich  Islands.  New  York,  1874.  Har¬ 
per  &  Brothers. 

Nordhoff, ;  Charles . — Health,  Pleasure,  and  Resi¬ 
dence.  New  York,  1872.  Harper  &  Brothers. 
This  is  one  of  the  best  descriptions  of  California. 
Is  well  illustrated. 

Norman ,  Lucia. — A  Youth’s  History  of  Califor¬ 
nia.  San  Francisco,  1867,  A.  Roman  &  Co. 

Notes  on  California  and  the  Placers.  New  York, 
1850.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Olden ,  W.  R. — A  Series  of  Articles  on  Southern 
California.  Anaheim,  California,  1875. 

Palmer ,  J.  W. — The  New  and  the  Old  ;  or,  Cali¬ 
fornia  and  India  in  Romantic  Aspects.  New 
York,  1859.  Rudd  &  Carleton. 

Parkman. — Travels  of  the  Jesuits.  2  vols.  Lon¬ 
don,  1762.  Printed  for  T.  Piety.  Vol.  i.  contains 
an  account  of  the  missions  of  California. 

Pioneers ,  First  Annual  of.  San  Francisco,  1877. 
Printed  by  W.  M.  Hinton  &  Co. 

Porquet ,  F.  deP — California  Phrase  Book,  1851. 
Simpkin. 


THE  A  UTHORITIES. 


155 


Pioneer .*■ — 4  vols.  San  Francisco,  185 4— 1855. 

Powell ,  J.  y. — The  Golden  State  and  its  Re¬ 
sources.  San  Francisco,  1874.  Bacon  &  Co. 

Revere ,  y.  W. — Tour  of  Duty  in  California.  New 
York.  1869.  C.  S.  Francis  &  Co. 

Ringold ,  C. — A  Series  of  Charts,  with  Sailing 
Directions,  embracing  Surveys  of  Bays  and  Rivers 
of  California.  Washington,  1851. 

Robinson ,  A . — Life  in  California.  New  York, 
1846.  Wiley  &  Putnam. 

Robinson ,  Fayette. — California  and  its  Gold  Re¬ 
gions.  New  York,  1849.  Stringer  &  Townsend. 

Ryan,  W.  R.— Personal  Adventures  in  Upper  and 
Lower  California.  2  vols.  London,  1850.  Wm. 
Shoberl. 

Saxon,  Isabella. — Five  Years  within  the  Golden 
Gate.  London,  1868.  Chapman  &  Hall.  A  de¬ 
scription  of  social  life. 

Seward,  W.  H. — Speech  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  on  the  Admission  of  California. 
March  11,  1850.  Washington,  1850. 

Seyd,  Ernest. — California  and  its  Resources.  A 
Work  for  the  Merchant,  the  Capitalist,  and  the  Em¬ 
igrant.  London,  1858.  Triibner  &  Co. 

Shuck ,  O.  Td — The  California  Scrap  Book.  San 
Francisco,  1869. 

Stillman,  y.  D.  B. — Seeking  the  Golden  Fleece. 
A  record  of  pioneer  life  in  California.  To  which  is 


156 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


annexed  Footprints  of  Early  Navigators,  other  than 
Spanish,  in  California.  San  Francisco,  1877.  A. 
Roman  &  Co. 

Taylor ,  Win. — California  Life  Illustrated.  New 
York,  1858.  Published  for  the  author. 

Thompson ,  G.  AT — California  and  Pacific.  1849. 
Simpkin. 

Thornton ,  J.  Q. — Oregon  and  California  in  1848. 
New  York,  1849.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Todd ,  J. — The  Sunset  Land.  Boston,  1870. 
Lee  &  Shepard. 

Truman ,  B.  C. — Semi-tropical  California.  San 
Francisco,  1874.  A.  L.  Bancroft  &  Co. 

Turrill,  Charles  B. — California  Notes.  San 
Francisco,  1876.  Edward  Bosqui  &  Co.,  print¬ 
ers. 

Tut  hill,  Franklin . — The  History  of  California. 
San  Francisco,  1866.  H.  H.  Bancroft  &  Co.  It 
gives  a  list  of  the  governors  under  Spain,  treats  of 
the  Jesuits,  Franciscans,  land-titles,  etc. 

Tyson ,  James  L. — Diary  of  a  Physician  in  Cali¬ 
fornia.  New  York,  1850.  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

Tyson ,  Philip  T. — Geology  and  Industrial  Re¬ 
sources  of  California.  Exec.  Doc.,  1st  sess.,  31st 
Congress. 

Udell,  J. — Incidents  of  Travel  in  California.  Jef¬ 
ferson,  O.,  1856.  Printed  for  the  author. 

Venegas ,  Al. — A  Natural  and  Civil  History  of 


THE  A  U THORITIES. 


15  7 


California.  2  vols.  London,  1759.  Printed  for 
James  Rivington. 

Weedy  Joseph. — A  View  of  California  as  It  is. 
San  Francisco,  1874.  Bynon  &  Wright. 

Werthy  John  J. — A  Dissertation  on  the  Re¬ 
sources  and  Policy  of  California.  Benicia,  Cal. 
St.  Clair  &  Pinkham. 

Whitney,  J.  D. — Geological  Survey  of  California. 
Printed  by  authority  of  the  Legislature. 

Woods ,  D.  B. — Sixteen  Months  in  the  Gold  Dig¬ 
gings.  New  York,  1851.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Wyld,  J* — Guide  to  the  Gold  Regions.  1850. 
Strange. 


THE  AUTHORITIES  ON  TEXAS. 

Baker ,  D.  W.  C . — A  Brief  History  of  Texas.  New 
York,  1873,  A.  S.  Barnes  &  Co. 

Baker ,  D.  W.  C. — A  Texas  Scrap-Book,  made  up 
of  the  History,  Biography,  and  Miscellany  of  Texas 
and  its  People.  New  York,  1875.  A.  S.  Barnes  & 
Co. 

Barrow ,  John . — Facts  relating  to  Northeastern 
Texas.  London,  1849.  Simpkin,  Marshall  &  Co. 

Bonnell,  G.  W. — Topographical  Description  of 
Texas.  Austin,  1840.  Clark,  Wing  &  Brown. 

Brady ,  Wm. —  Glimpses  of  Texas.  Houston, 
1871. 


i58 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Braman,  D.  E.  E. — Information  about  Texas. 
Philadelphia,  1857.  J.  B.  Lippincott  &  Co. 

Cordova,  J.  D. — Texas,  her  Resources  and  her 
Public  Men.  Philadelphia,  1858.  E.  Crozet. 

Dewees ,  W.  BE — Letters  from  an  Early  Settler 
of  Texas.  Louisville,  1852. 

Edwards ,  D.  B. — History  of  Texas  ;  or,  Emi¬ 
grants’,  Farmers’,  and  Politicians’  Guide.  Cincin¬ 
nati,  1836.  J.  A.  James  &  Co.  It  treats  of  the 
colonization  laws. 

Flack ,  Capt. — The  Texan  Rifle  Hunter;  or,  Field 
Sports  on  the  Prairie.  London,  1866.  John  Max¬ 
well  &  Co. 

Foot,  H.  S. — Texas  and  the  Texans  ;  or,  Advance 
of  the  Anglo-Americans  to  the  Southwest.  Phila¬ 
delphia,  1841.  2  vols.  Thomas  Cowperthwaite  & 

Co.  It  treats  of  the  Spanish  colonial  policy,  Aaron 
Burr’s  scheme,  etc. 

Forney,  John  W. — What  I  Saw  in  Texas.  Phila¬ 
delphia,  1872.  Ringwalt  &  Brown. 

Gouge,  W.  M. — Fiscal  History  of  Texas  ;  its  Re¬ 
venues,  Debts,  and  Currency,  1834-1852.  Phila¬ 
delphia,  1852.  Lippincott,  Grambo  &  Co. 

Green ,  T.  J. — Journal  of  the  Texian  Expedition 
against  Mier.  New  York,  1845.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Greeley ,  Horace . — Letters  from  Texas  and  the 
Lower  Mississippi.  New  York,  1871.  Tribune 
Office. 


THE  A  UTHORITIES. 


159 

Holley ,  Mary  Austin  (Mrs.). — Texas.  Lexington, 
1836.  J.  Clarke  &  Co. 

Hooton ,  Charles. — St.  Louis  Isle;  or,  Texiana. 
London,  1847.  Simmons  &  Ward. 

Houston ,  M.  C.  (Mrs.). — Texas  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  Philadelphia,  1845.  G.  B.  Zieber. 

Ikin ,  A  A — Texas,  1841.  Sherwood. 

Jones ,  A. — Memoranda  and  Official  Correspond¬ 
ence  relating  to  the  Republic  of  Texas;  its  His¬ 
tory  and  Annexation.  New  York,  1859.  D.  Ap¬ 
pleton  &  Co. 

Kennedy ,  Wm. — Texas  ;  its  Geography,  Natural 
History,  and  Topography.  New  York,  1844.  Ben¬ 
jamin  &  Young. 

Kennedy ,  Win. — Texas;  the  Rise,  Progress,  and 
Prospects.  2  vols.  London,  1841.  R.  Hastings. 

McCulla ,  W.  L. — Adventures  in  Texas.  Phila¬ 
delphia,  1841.  Printed  for  the  author. 

Maillard ,  N.D. — The  History  of  the  Republic  of 
Texas,  from  the  Discovery  of  the  Country  to  the 
Present  Time  and  the  Cause  of  her  Separation  from 
the  Republic  of  Mexico.  London,  1842.  Smith, 
Elder  &  Co. 

Montgomery. —  Eagle  Pass  ;  or,  Life  on  the  Border. 
New  York,  1852.  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Co. 

Moore ,  F. — Description  of  Texas.  New  York, 
1844.  T.  R.  Tanner. 

Morphis ,  J.  M. — History  of  Texas  from  its  Dis- 


1 60 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


covery  and  Settlement.  New  York,  1874.  United 
States  Publishing  Company. 

Newell ,  C. — History  of  the  Revolution  in  Texas. 
New  York,  1838.  Wiley  &  Putnam. 

Olmstead ,  F.  L. — A  Journey  through  Texas.  New 
York,  1857.  Dix,  Edwards  &  Co. 

Parker ,  PK  B. — Notes  taken  during  the  Expedi¬ 
tion  by  Captain  R.  B.  Marcy  through  Unexplored 
Texas.  Philadelphia,  1856.  Hayes  &  Zell. 

Pease ,  L .  T. — Geographical  and  Historical  View 
of  Texas.  In  appendix  of  Niles’s  “  History  of 
Mexico.” 

Prairiedom. — Rambles  and  Scrambles  in  Texas. 
New  York,  1845.  Paine  &  Burgess. 

Probus. — The  Texan  Revolution,  1842. 

Protest. — The  Anti-Texass  Legion.  Protest  of 
some  Freemen,  States,  and  Presses  against  the 
Texass  Rebellion  against  the  Laws  of  Nature  and 
of  Nations.  Albany,  1845.  Extremely  radical. 

Rankin,  Melinda. — Texas  in  1850.  Boston,  1850. 
Damrell  &  Moore. 

Smith,  E* — Northeastern  Texas,  1849.  Ham¬ 
ilton. 

Stiff,  E. — The  Texan  Emigrant.  Cincinnati, 
1840.  George  Conclin. 

Texas. — A  Visit  to  Texas,  being  the  Journal  of  a 
Traveller.  New  York,  1834.  Goodrich  &  Wiley. 

Texas*  A  New  History  of.  Cincinnati,  1848. 


THE  A  UTHORITIES. 


161 


Texas ,  History  of;  or,  The  Emigrant’s  Guide 
to  the  New  Republic.  New  York,  1845.  Nafis  & 
Cornish. 

Texas . — An  English  Question.  (Anon.)  Lon¬ 
don,  1837.  E.  Wilson. 

Texas.* — Its  Soil  and  Advantages.  E.  Wilson, 
1848. 

Thrall ,  H.  S. — A  History  of  Texas  from  the 
Earliest  Settlements  to  the  Year  1876.  New  York, 
1876.  University  Publishing  Co. 

Western  Texas  the  Australia  of  America ;  or,  The 
Place  to  Live.  Cincinnati,  i860. 

Woodman,  David,  Jr. — Guide  to  Texas  Emi¬ 
grants.  Boston,  1835.  Printed  by  M.  Hawees. 

Yoakum,  H. — History  of  Texas  from  its  First 
Settlement  in  1685  to  its  Annexation  to  the  United 
States  in  1846.  2  vols.  New  York,  1855.  Red- 

field.  This  is  the  most  complete  history  of  Texas 
yet  published. 

In  addition  to  the  many  Spanish  records  and 
manuscripts  relating  to  Texas,  believed  to  be  in 
existence  in  Mexico  and  Spain,  and  the  above  list 
of  works  in  English,  there  is  an  unpublished  man¬ 
uscript  by  a  Swiss  scientist  and  explorer,  which 
probably  contains  as  valuable  information  about 
the  State  of  Texas  as  was  ever  written.  We  allude 
to  the  Berlandier  manuscript,  which  is  more  fully 
described  in  a  subsequent  list. 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


l62 


THE  AUTHORITIES  ON  NEW  MEXICO. 

Albert ,  J.  W. — Report  of  his  Examination  of 
New  Mexico  in  1846-1847.  Washington,  1848. 
Executive  Document  41. 

Amy ,  W.  F.  M. — Interesting  Items  regarding 
New  Mexico.  Its  Agricultural,  Mineral,  and  Pas¬ 
toral  Resources.  Santa  Fe,  1873.  Manderfield  & 
Tucker,  printers. 

Brevort,  Elias. — New  Mexico:  her  Resources 
and  Attractions.  Santa  Fe,  1874. 

Carleton,  J.  H. — Diary  of  an  Excursion  to  the 
Ruins  of  Abo,  etc.,  in  New  Mexico.  In  Smith¬ 
sonian  Report,  1854,  p.  296,  etc. 

Clever,  Charles  P. — New  Mexico:  her  Resources, 
etc.  Washington,  1868. 

Davis ,  W.  W.  H. — The  Spanish  Conquest  of  New 
Mexico.  Doylestown,  Pa.,  1869.  A  thorough,  in¬ 
structive,  and  highly  entertaining  work. 

Davis ,  W.  IV.  H. — El  Gringo  ;  or,  New  Mexico 
and  her  People.  New  York,  1857.  Harper  &  Bro¬ 
thers.  A  description  of  social  life  in  New  Mexico. 

Edwards ,  Frank  S. — A  Campaign  in  New  Mex¬ 
ico  with  Colonel  Doniphan’s  Expedition.  Phila¬ 
delphia,  1847.  Carey  &  Hart. 

Elkins ,  5.  B. — Speech  in  the  House  of  Repre¬ 
sentatives,  May  21,  1874,  on  the  Proposed  Admis- 


THE  A  U  THORITIES.  1 63 

sion  to  the  Union  of  New  Mexico.  In  Con¬ 
gressional  Record,  pp.  295-302. 

Fspejo,  Antonio  de ,  Voyage  of,  to  New  Mexico  in 
1582.  In  Hakluyt’s  “Voyages,”  iii.  464,  etc. 

Hughes,  J.  T. — Account  of  the  Conquest  of  New 
Mexico.  Cincinnati,  1848.  In  his  “Doniphan’s 
Expedition.” 

Me  Par  tin,  Thomas  A . — Notes  on  the  History  and 
Climate  of  New  Mexico.  In  Smithsonian  Report, 
1876. 

Meline ,  James  F. — Two  Thousand  Miles  on 
Horseback  ;  Santa  Fe  and  Back.  New  York,  1867. 
Hurd  &  Hou  ghton.  Is  chiefly  on  New  Mexico. 

Ruffner ,  Lieutenant . — A  Political  Problem  ;  New 
Mexico  and  the  New  Mexicans.  1876. 

Ruis,  Friar  Augustin. — Exploration  of,  to  New 
Mexico  in  1581.  In  Hakluyt’s  “Voyages,”  iii.,  p. 
464,  etc. 

Simpson ,  J.  H. — Report  of  Exploration  and  Sur¬ 
vey,  from  Fort  Smith,  Arkansas,  to  Santa  FA 
House  Executive  Doc.  45  ;  1st  sess.  31st  Con¬ 
gress. 


A  large  portion  of  the  authorities  on  this  Terri¬ 
tory  will  be  found  in  the  subsequent  list  of  works 
too  general  for  the  above  territorial  classification, 
such  as  reports  of  surveys,  boundary  commissions, 
etc.  Spanish  works  and  records  on  the  history  of 


164 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


New  Mexico  are  very  abundant;  and  when  the 
Territory  becomes  more  developed  and  populous, 
those  authorities  will  be  sought  for,  and  doubtless 
translated  into  English.  The  recent  official  report 
on  public  libraries,  in  alluding  to  the  libraries  of 
New  Mexico  in  1850,  says:  “The  library  then  con¬ 
tained  the  manuscript  records  of  the  Territory 
dating  back  more  than  three  hundred  years.  This 
collection  of  records  is  probably  the  oldest  in  the 
United  States.”* 

THE  AUTHORITIES  ON  ARIZONA. 

Cozzens ,  S.  W. — The  Marvellous  Country ;  or, 
Three  Years  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico.  Boston, 
1873.  Shepard  &  Gill. 

Hodge ,  Hiram  C. — Arizona  as  It  is  ;  or,  The  Com¬ 
ing  Country.  New  York,  1877.  Hurd  &  Hough¬ 
ton. 

Johnson,  Chas .  £.*■ — History  of  the  Territory  of 
Arizona.  San  Francisco,  1868. 

McCormick ,  Richard  C. — Arizona  ;  its  Resources 
and  Prospects.  New  York,  1865.  D.  Van  Nos¬ 
trand. 

Mozury,  Sylvester. — Arizona  and  Sonora.  New 


“  Public  Libraries  of  the  United  States. ”  Washington,  1876.  See 
p.  294. 


THE  A  U THOR! TIES.  ! 65 

York,  1864.  Harper  &  Brothers.  This  is  chiefly  on 
the  mines  of  Arizona. 

Piimpelly,  R. — Across  America  and  Asia;  Notes 
of  a  Five  Years’  Journey  around  the  World,  and  of 
Residence  in  Arizona,  Japan,  and  China.  New 
York,  1870.  Leypoldt  &  Holt. 

Safford,  A.  P.  K.— The  Territory  of  Arizona:  a 
brief  History  and  Summary.  Tucson,  1874. 

A  large  portion  of  the  authorities  on  this  Terri¬ 
tory,  as  well  as  New  Mexico,  will  be  found  in  the 
subsequent  list  of  works  too  general  for  the  above 
territorial  classification,  such  as  Government  and 
Pacific  Railroad  surveys  and  reports,  etc. 

Like  Texas,  New  Mexico,  and  California,  it  was 
extensively  written  up  by  the  Spanish  when  they 
were  in  possession  of  New  Spain,  and  those  works 
will  some  time  be  sufficiently  needed  to  justify 
translations. 

THE  AUTHORITIES  ON  COLORADO. 

Blackmore ,  W. — Colorado  and  Emigration.  Lon¬ 
don,  1869.  Low. 

Bowles ,  S. — Colorado  the  Switzerland  of  Amer¬ 
ica.  Boston,  1869.  Lee  &  Shepard. 

Colorado :  Its  Resources,  Parks,  and  Prospects, 
as  a  new  Field  for  Emigration.  London,  1869. 
Rankin  &  Co. 


1 66 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Fossett,  Frank. — Colorado  ;  a  Historical,  Descrip¬ 
tive,  and  Statistical  Work  on  the  Rocky  Mountains' 
Gold  and  Silver  Mining  Regions.  Denver,  1876. 

Greatorex,  £ .*■ — Summer  Etchings  in  Colorado. 
London,  1874. 

Pangborn ,  J.  G. — The  Rocky  Mountain  Tourist. 
Topeka,  Kans.,  1877.  T.  J.  Anderson.  This  is 
chiefly  on  that  portion  of  New  Spain  lying  within 
the  limits  of  Colorado  which  is  intersected  by  the 
Atchison,  Topeka,  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad. 

Taylor,  Bayard. — Colorado;  a  Summer  Trip. 
New  York,  1867.  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Son. 

Whitney ,  J.  P. — Colorado  in  the  United  States 
of  America.  London,  1867.  Cassell,  Petter  & 
Galpin. 

Many  other  authorities  on  the  southern  or  Span¬ 
ish  portion  of  Colorado,  such  as  Simpson’s  ac¬ 
count  of  Coronado’s  expedition,  Hayden’s  surveys, 
Wheeler’s  surveys,  etc.,  etc.,  will  be  found  in  a  sub¬ 
sequent  list,  but  are  too  general  for  this  classifica¬ 
tion. 


THE  AUTHORITIES  ON  NEVADA. 

The  history  of  this  State  is  chiefly  the  history  of 
mines  and  mining,  and  very  little  has  been  written 
on  the  State  in  separate  books. 

The  annual  reports  of  the  United  State  Commis- 


THE  A  U THORITIES. 


1 67 


sioner  of  Mining  Statistics,  and  other  works  on 
precious  metals,  contain  the  most  of  the  informa¬ 
tion  yet  published. 

The  subject  is  rich  enough  to  deserve  a  better 
supply  of  authorities.  The  following  is  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  its  future  store  of  written  history: 

Powell,  J.  J. — Nevada  ;  the  Land  of  Silver.  San 
Francisco,  1876.  Bacon  &  Co. 

Quille ,  Dan  de  (Wm.  Wright). — History  of  the 
Big  Bonanza  ;  an  Authentic  Account  of  the  Dis¬ 
covery,  History,  and  Working  of  the  world-re¬ 
nowned  Comstock  Silver  Lode  of  Nevada.  Hart¬ 
ford,  1876.  American  Publishing  Co. 

THE  AUTHORITIES  ON  UTAH. 

Bonwick ,  J. — The  Mormons  and  the  Silver  Mines. 
London,  1872.  Hodder  &  Stoughton. 

Burton ,  R.  F. — The  City  of  the  Saints.  London, 
1861.  Longman,  Green,  Longman  &  Roberts. 

Chandlcss ,  Wm. — A  Visit  to  Salt  Lake.  London, 
1857.  Smith,  Elder  &  Co. 

Codman ,  John. — The  Mormon  Country.  New 
York,  1874.  United  States  Publishing  Co. 

Murphy,  J.  R. — The  Mineral  Resources  of  Utah. 
San  Francisco,  1872.  A.  L.  Bancroft  &  Co. 

Rcmy  and  Brenchlcy.— A  Journey  to  Great  Salt 
Lake.  2  vols.  London,  1861.  W.  Jeffs. 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


1 68 

Simpson ,  J.  H. — Explorations  across  Utah.  Wash¬ 
ington,  1876. 

Stansbury ,  Howard. — Explorations  and  Survey  of 
the  Valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  of  Utah.  Phila¬ 
delphia,  1852.  Lippincott,  Grambo  &  Co. 

As  was  stated  in  the  forepart  of  this  chapter,  the 
list  of  authorities  does  not  embrace  pamphlets, 
legislative  documents,  works  on  the  Mormon  reli¬ 
gion,  etc.  By  including  the  history  of  the  Mor¬ 
mons,  this  list  on  Utah  could  be  greatly  extended. 

AUTHORITIES  TOO  GENERAL  FOR  THE  ABOVE 
TERRITORIAL  CLASSIFICATION. 

The  most  of  the  works  embraced  in  this  list  are 
official,  scientific,  business-like,  and  for  business 
purposes.  As  a  rule  they  will  not  be  found  in  the 
catalogues  of  public  libraries  classified  with  the 
authorities  on  the  respective  States  or  Territories 
of  the  Southwest,  for  they  are  too  comprehensive 
and  general  for  such  classification.  And  as  the 
Southwest,  or  New  Spain,  is  a  term  unknown  to 
catalogues,  it  is  difficult  for  the  general  reader, 
who  is  investigating  that  part  of  the  country,  to 
find  all  of  the  authorities.  This  list  is  probably 
not  complete,  but  the  author  trusts  that  it  is  near¬ 
ly  so. 

Arispe,  Don  Miguel  Ramos  de. — Memorial  on  the 


THE  A  UTHORITIES . 


169 


Natural,  Political,  and  Civil  State  of  the  Province 
of  Cohaula  in  the  Kingdoms  of  Mexico,  and  those 
of  the  new  kingdoms  of  Leon,  New  Santander,  and 
Texas.  Translated  from  the  Spanish.  Philadel¬ 
phia,  1814. 

Baldwin ,  jf.  D. — Ancient  America.  New  York, 
1872.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Bancroft ,  H.  H. — The  Native  Races  of  the 
Pacific  States  of  North  America.  5  vols.  New 
York,  1876.  D.  Appleton  &  Co.  Vol.  i.  on  Wild 
Tribes.  Vol.  ii.  on  Civilized  Nations.  Vol.  iii.  on 
Myths  and  Languages.  Vol.  iv.  on  Antiquities. 
Vol.  v.  on  Primitive  History.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  elaborate  works  ever  published  in  the  United 
States  ;  and  with  the  exception  of  the  pages  relat¬ 
ing  to  Central  America,  is  chiefly  on  the  native 
races  of  the  country  which  constituted  New  Spain. 

Bartlett,  J.  R. — Personal  Narrative  of  Explora¬ 
tions  and  Incidents  in  Texas,  New  Nexico,  Cali¬ 
fornia,  Sonora,  and  Chihuahua,  connected  with  the 
United  States  and  Mexican  Boundary  Commission 
during  the  years  1850,  1851,  1852,  1853.  2  vols. 

New  York,  1854.  D.  Appleton  &  Co.  Finely  illus¬ 
trated. 

Bates ,  D.  B.  ( Mrs .). — Incidents  on  Land  and 
Water  ;  or,  Four  Years  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Bos¬ 
ton,  1857.  Jones,  French  &  Co. 

Baxley ,  H.  W. — What  I  saw  on  the  West  Coast 
8 


170 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


of  South  and  North  America.  New  York,  1865. 
D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

Bell ,  W.  A. — New  Tracks  in  North  America.  A 
journal  of  travel  and  adventure  whilst  engaged  in 
the  survey  for  a  Southern  Railroad  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean  during  1867-1868.  2  vols.  London,  1869. 

Chapman  &  Hall.  Illustrated. 

Berlandier ,  Luis. — The  very  elaborate  work  on 
New  Spain,  to  the  preparation  of  which  this  author 
devoted  about  twenty  years’  time,  has  never  been 
published.  Judging  from  the  account  of  it  given 
in  the  Smithsonian  Report  for  1854,  it  must  be  as 
elaborate  as  the  works,  on  the  same  subject,  by 
Baron  Humboldt,  and  Ward,  the  British  minister. 
The  catalogue  alone  of  these  MSS.  occupies  over 
two  pages  of  the  appendix  to  the  Smithsonian  Re¬ 
port  above  mentioned.  The  following  is  a  portion 
of  the  catalogue  there  given  : 

“  Travels  in  Mexico  and  Texas,  1826  to  1834  in¬ 
clusive,  containing  notes  upon  the  statistics,  early 
settlement  and  Indian  tribes  between  the  Sabine 
and  Pacific,  etc.  7  vols.” 

“Travels  in  Mexico,  1828-1830.  Comprising  in¬ 
teresting  notes  of  the  early  settlers  of  Texas  by 
the  Spanish  and  French;  account  of  the  ancient 
Indian  tribes,  etc.  etc.  3  vols.” 

“  Geography  and  Statistics  of  the  Republic  of 
Mexico.” 


THE  A  U TIIOR IT IE S. 


171 

“  Paintings  of  thirty  different  Indian  tribes. 
1  vol.” 

“  History  of  the  Agriculture  of  Ancient  and 
Modern  Mexico.  1  vol.” 

“  Diary  of  the  Commission  of  Limits  in  North¬ 
ern  Mexico,  1830.  3  vols.” 

In  addition  to  the  above,  there  was  a  detailed 
report  on  the  topography,  several  volumes  on  me¬ 
teorology,  much  in  regard  to  the  Indian  tribes,  and 
a  large  number  of  maps. 

According  to  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institute,  Dr.  Berlandier  was  “  a  na¬ 
tive  of  Switzerland,  and  a  member  of  the  Academy 
of  Geneva.  He  came  to  Mexico  in  1826,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a  scientific  examination  of  that 
country.  Soon  after  his  arrival  he  was  appointed 
one  of  the  boundary  commission,  organized  by  the 
then  new  republic,  with  the  object  of  defining  the 
boundaries,  extent,  resources,  etc.,  etc.,  of  the  north¬ 
ern  or  frontier  States.”*  From  the  time  of  his 
arrival  in  Mexico,  until  his  death  in  1851,  he  was 
occupied  in  this  detailed  examination  and  review 
of  the  Southwest.  About  the  time  of  his  death  an 
officer  of  the  United  States  army,  who  was  making 
a  scientific  exploration  of  Mexico  in  the  interest 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  learned  of  the  MSS., 


*  See  Smithsonian  Report  for  1854,  pp.  15  and  396-398. 


172 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


and  purchased  the  same  of  Dr.  Berlandier’s  widow. 
He  sent  the  same  for  safe  keeping  to  the  Smith¬ 
sonian.  The  portion  of  the  MSS.  on  meteorology 
was  destroyed  by  the  fire  at  the  Smithsonian  in 
1865.  The  rest  was  withdrawn  and  sold  to  some 
individual.  It  is  to  be  hoped  it  will  be  published 
and  accessible  to  the  public. 

Bonnycastle,  R.  H. — Spanish  America  ;  or,  A  De¬ 
scriptive,  Historical,  and  Geographical  Account  of 
the  Dominions  of  Spain  in  the  Western  Hemi¬ 
sphere.  Philadelphia,  1819.  Abraham  Small.  This 
gives  the  political  and  territorial  divisions  and  In¬ 
tendancies. 

Bowles ,  Samuel. — Across  the  Continent.  New 
York,  1865.  Hurd  &  Houghton. 

Box,  M.  J. — Adventures  and  Explorations  in 
New  and  Old  Mexico,  being  the  record  of  ten 
years  of  travel  and  research,  and  a  guide  to  the 
mineral  treasures  of  Durango,  Chihuahua,  the 
Sierra  Nevada  (east  side),  Sinaloa  and  Sonora  (Pa¬ 
cific  side),  and  the  Southern  part  of  Arizona.  New 
York,  1869.  James  Miller. 

Browne,  J.  Ross . — Adventures  in  the  Apache 
Country.  A  Tour  through  Arizona  and  Sonora, 
with  Notes  on  the  Silver  of  Nevada.  New  York, 
1869.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Brozvne,  J.  Ross. — Resources  of  the  Pacific  States. 
A  statistical  and  descriptive  summary. 


THE  A  U THORITIES. 


1 73 


With  a  sketch  of  the  settlement  and  exploration 
of  Lower  California.  New  York,  1869.  D.  Apple- 
ton  &  Co. 

Browne ,  J.  Ross. — Crusoe's  Island,  California,  and 
Washoe.  New  York,  1864.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Burney,  Janies. — A  Chronological  History  of 
Discoveries  in  the  South  Sea.  5  vols.  London, 
1803-1817.  Printed  by  Luke  Hansard  &  Sons. 

Butterfield ,  Carlos. — The  United  States  and  Mex¬ 
ican  Mail  Steamship  Line.  New  York,  i860.  J. 
A.  H.  Hasbrouck  &  Co. 

Cabeza  de  Vaca.  —  The  Shipwrecks  of  Alvar 
Nunez  Cabeza  de  Vaca.  Relation.  Washington, 
1851.  This  contains  an  account  of  his  overland 
trip  through  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  to  meet 
Cortez’  soldiers  in  Old  Mexico. 

Carvalho ,  A.  N. — Incidents  of  Travel  and  Ad¬ 
venture  in  the  Far  West  with  Colonel  Fremont’s 
last  Expedition.  New  York,  1857.  Darby  &  Jack- 
son. 

Cassin ,  John. — Illustrations  of  Birds  of  Califor¬ 
nia,  Texas,  etc.  Philadelphia,  1856.  J.  B.  Lippin- 
cott  &  Co. 

Champlain,  S.  de. — Voyage  to  Mexico,  1599-1602. 
Translated  by  A.  Wilmere.  London,  1859. 
Hakluyt’s  “  Voyages,”  v.  23. 

Chilton,  J. — Voyage  to  New  Spain,  1568.  Lon¬ 
don,  1810.  In  Hakluyt’s  “  Voyages,”  iii.  541,  etc. 


174 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Coronado ,  Francisco  Vasques  de,  The  Relation 
of,  in  regard  to  the  Country  of  Cibola  in  New  Mex¬ 
ico,  and  Arizona.  In  Hakluyt’s  “  Voyages,”  iii. 
446,  etc. 

Coulter ,  J. — Adventures  on  the  West  Coast  of 
South  America  and  California.  2  vols.  London, 
184;. 

Cremony ,  John  C. — Life  among  the  Apaches. 
San  Francisco,  1868.  A.  Roman  &  Co. 

Dana ,  R.  H. — Two  Years  before  the  Mast.  Bos¬ 
ton,  1869.  Fields,  Osgood  &  Co. 

Domcncch ,  E. — Missionary  Adventures  in  Texas 
and  Mexico.  London,  1858.  Longman,  Brown, 
Green,  Longmans  &  Roberts. 

Domcncch,  E. — Seven  Years’  Residence  in  the 
Great  Deserts  of  North  America  2  vols.  Lon¬ 
don,  i860.  Longman,  Green,  Longman  &  Roberts. 
Splendidly  illustrated. 

Emory ,  W.  H. — Notes  of  a  Military  Recon- 
noissance  from  Fort  Leavenworth,  in  Missouri,  to 
San  Diego,  in  California.  Senate  Exec.  Doc.  No. 
7  ;  1st  sess.,  30th  Congress. 

Escalante ,  Father . — Summary  of  his  Journal  of 
an  Expedition  in  1776  from  Santa  Fe  to  Utah  Lake 
and  the  Moqui  Villages.  In  appendix  of  J.  H. 
Simpson’s  “  Explorations  Across  Utah.”  Washing¬ 
ton,  1872. 

Emory ,  William  H. — Report  on  the  United 


THE  A  UTHORITIES 


175 


States  and  Mexican  Boundary  Survey.  3  vols. 
Washington,  1857.  Very  finely  illustrated. 

Vol.  I.  is  descriptive  of  the  country. 

Vol.  II.  is  Report  on  the  Botany. 

Vol.  III.  is  Report  on  the  Zoology. 

Forbes ,  Alexander. — California:  A  History  of 
Upper  and  Lower  California.  London,  1839. 
Smith,  Elder  &  Co. 

Graham,  Lieut. -Col. — Report  on  the  United  States 
and  Mexico  Boundary  Line.  Senate  Exec.  Doc. 
No.  12 1  ;  32d  Congress,  1st  sess. 

Gray ,  Asa. — Plantae  Wrightianae,  an  Account  of 
a  Collection  of  Plants  made  by  Charles  Wright  in 
Texas  and  New  Mexico  in  1849.  New  York,  1852- 
1853.  G.  P.  Putnam.  Also  Nos.  22  and  42  of 
“  Smithsonian  Contributions/’ 

Gregg,  Josiah. — Commerce  of  the  Prairies  ;  or, 
The  Journal  of  a  Santa  Fe  Trader  during  Eight 
Expeditions  across  the  Great  Western  Prairies, 
and  a  Residence  of  nearly  Nine  Years  in  Northern 
Mexico.  2  vols.  New  York,  1844.  Henry  G.  Lang¬ 
ley.  The  first  volume  is  chiefly  on  New  Mexico. 

Hawks ,  Henry. — Voyage  to  New  Spain,  1572. 
In  Hakluyt’s  “Voyages,”  iii.  549,  etc. 

Hayden,  F.  V. — Annual  Reports  of  the  United 
States  Geological  and  Geographical  Survey  of  the 
Territories  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 
Washington,  1867-1877. 


1 76 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


The  Seventh  Annual  Report  on  the  explorations 
of  1873  contains  valuable  information  in  regard  to 
the  geology  and  mining  industry  of  that  portion 
of  Colorado  lying  within  the  limits  of  former  New 
Spain. 

The  Eighth  Annual  Report  on  the  explorations 
of  1874  contains  reports  of  the  San  Juan  mines  and 
the  ancient  ruins  in  Southwestern  Colorado. 

The  Ninth  Annual  Report  on  the  explorations  of 
1875  contains  a  report  on  the  geology  of  the  San 
Juan  region. 

The  Tenth  Annual  Report  will  contain  a  further 
account  of  the  ancient  ruins  of  Southwestern  Colo¬ 
rado,  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona. 

In  addition  to  the  annual  reports  of  Prof.  Hay¬ 
den,  there  is  among  the  miscellaneous  publications 
a  “  List  of  Elevations/’  by  Henry  Gannett,  pub¬ 
lished  in  1877,  containing  much  interesting  infor¬ 
mation  about  the  elevations  of  the  Southwest. 

There  has  also  been  prepared  by  this  surveying 
expedition  a  series  of  elegant  photographs,  among 
which  are  views  of  the  scenery  and  ancient  ruins 
of  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  the  Spanish  portion 
of  Colorado.  A  collection  of  these  photographs 
makes  an  important  addition  to  the  authorities  on 
New  Spain. 

Heap ,  Gwinn ,  Harris . — Central  Route  to  the  Pa- 


THE  A  UTHORITIES. 


1 77 


cific  from  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  to  Califor¬ 
nia.  Illustrated.  Philadelphia,  1854.  Lippincott, 
Grambo  &  Co.  This  is  a  route  from  Missouri 
through  New  Spain  to  Los  Angeles. 

Hughes ,  J.  T. — Doniphan’s  Expedition,  contain¬ 
ing  an  Account  of  the  Conquest  of  New  Mexico; 
General  Kearney’s  Overland  Expedition  to  Cali¬ 
fornia  ;  Doniphan’s  Campaign  against  the  Nava- 
jos;  his  unparalleled  March  upon  Chihuahua  and 
Durango  ;  and  the  Operations  of  General  Price  at 
Santa  Fe.  Cincinnati,  1848.  J.  A.  &  U.  P.  James. 

Ives,  y.  C. — Report  on  the  Colorado  River  of  the 
West  (36th  Cong.,  1st  sess. ;  House  Exec.  Doc.  90). 
Washington,  1861. 

Kendall,  G.  W. — Narrative  of  the  Texan  Santa 
Fe  Expedition.  2  vols.  New  York,  1850.  Harper 
&  Brothers. 

Ker,  H. — Travels  through  the  Western  Interior 
of  the  United  States,  with  a  particular  Description 
of  a  great  part  of  Mexico,  or  New  Spain.  Eliza¬ 
bethtown,  New  York,  1816. 

Las  Casas,  Bartholemew  de. — An  Account  of  the 
First  Voyages  and  Discoveries  made  by  the  Spanish 
in  America.  By  Don  Bartholemew  de  las  Casas, 
Bishop  of  Chiapa.  London,  1699. 

Macomb ,  J.  N. — Report  of  the  Exploring  Expe¬ 
dition  from  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  to  the  Junction 
of  the  Grand  and  Green  Rivers  of  the  great  Colo- 
8 


178 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


rado  of  the  West  in  1859.  Finely  illustrated. 
Washington,  1876. 

Mcllvaine ,  W. — Sketches  of  Scenery  and  Notes 
of  Personal  Adventure  in  California  and  Mexico. 
Illustrated.  Philadelphia,  1850. 

Marcy ,  R.  B . — Thirty  Years  of  Army  Life  on  the 
Border.  London,  1866.  Sampson  Low,  Son  & 
Marston. 

Niza ,  Marco  de. — A  Relation  touching  his  Dis¬ 
covery  of  Cenola,  or  Cibola,  in  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona.  In  Hakluyt’s  Voyages,  vol.  iii.,  438, 
etc. 

Pacific  Railroad. — Reports  of  Explorations  and 
Surveys  to  ascertain  the  most  practicable  and  eco¬ 
nomical  Route  for  a  Railroad  from  the  Mississippi 
River  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  made  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  the  Secretary  of  War.  12  vols.  Washing¬ 
ton,  1855-1860.  The  following  is  not  a  complete 
table  of  contents  of  these  twelve  volumes,  but  an 
index  to  portions  of  interest  in  the  investigation  of 
the  resources  of  the  Southwest : 

Vol.  I.  contains  a  report  by  the  Secretary  of 
War  reviewing  the  various  reports  submitted  to 
him,  and  routes  explored. 

Vol.  II.  contains  a  finely  illustrated  report  by 
Lieutenant  E.  G.  Beckwith  on  explorations  near 
the  38th  and  39th  parallels.  Also  another  report  by 
Lieutenant  Beckwith  on  explorations  near  the  41st 


THE  A  U THORITIES. 


179 


parallel.  A  report  by  Captain  John  Pope  on  ex¬ 
plorations  near  the  32c!  parallel  from  the  Red  River 
to  the  Rio  Grande.  An  illustrated  report  by  John 
Torrey  and  Asa  Gray  on  the  botany  along  the  32d 
parallel.  A  report  by  Wm.  P.  Blake  on  the  geo¬ 
logy  near  the  32d  parallel.  A  report  by  Lieutenant 
John  G.  Parke  on  explorations  for  that  portion  of 
the  32d  parallel  route  lying  between  Dona  Ana,  on 
the  Rio  Grande,  and  the  Pima  villages,  on  the  Gila 
River.  An  extract  from  a  report  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Emory  on  the  region  near  the  32d  parallel. 

Vols.  III.  and  IV.  contain  a  report,  in  six  parts, 
by  Lieutenant  A.  W.  Whipple,  assisted  by  Lieuten¬ 
ant  J.  C.  Ives,  on  explorations  near  the  35th  parallel. 
Part  I.  is  a  finely  illustrated  description  of  the  jour¬ 
ney.  It  contains  a  description  of  Zuni,  or  the  for¬ 
mer  city  of  Cibola.  Part  II.  is  on  the  topographical 
features  of  the  route.  Part  III.  is  on  Indian  tribes. 
Part  IV.  is  on  the  geology.  Part  V.  is  on  the  bot¬ 
any  of  the  route. 

Vol.  V.  contains  a  report,  in  four  parts,  by 
Lieutenant  R.  S.  Williamson,  on  explorations  in 
California  for  railroad  routes  to  connect  with  those 
near  the  32d  and  35th  parallels.  Part  I.  is  a  finely 
illustrated  description  of  the  country.  Part  II.  is 
an  illustrated  report  on  geology  by  W.  P.  Blake. 
Part  III.  is  on  botany. 

Vol.  VII.  contains  a  report,  in  three  parts,  by 


i8o 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


Lieutenant  John  G.  Park,  on  explorations  from  San 
Francisco  Bay  to  Los  Angeles,  and  from  the  Pimas 
villages,  on  the  Gila  River,  to  the  Rio  Grande  near 
the  32d  parallel.  Part  I.  is  a  general  report  de¬ 
scriptive  of  the  country  and  finely  illustrated.  Part 

II.  is  a  report  on  the  geology  of  the  route.  Part 

III.  is  on  botany. 

Vol.  XI.  contains  a  review  of  the  various  explo¬ 
rations  from  1800  to  1857,  such  as  the  explorations 
of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  Bonneville,  Simpson,  Fre¬ 
mont,  and  many  others.  It  also  contains  maps, 
profiles,  and  elaborate  sketches  illustrating  the  con¬ 
tents  of  preceding  volumes. 

Palmer ,  Wm.  J. — Report  of  Surveys  across  the 
Continent,  in  1867-8,  for  a  Route  extending  the 
Kan  sas  Pacific  Railway  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  at  San 
Francisco  and  San  Diego.  Philadelphia,  1869.  W. 
B.  Selheimer,  printer. 

Pike ,  Z .  M.,  Capt.  United  States  Army. — Diary 
of  a  Tour  through  the  Interior  Provinces  of  New 
Spain  in  the  year  1807,  under  an  escort  of  Spanish 
dragoons. 

Powell,  J.  W. — Exploration  of  the  Colorado  River 
of  the  West.  Washington,  1875.  Finely  illustrated. 

Ramusius,  M.  Jolm  Baptista. — A  Brief  Discourse 
concerning  the  Three  Voyages  of  Marco  de  Niza, 
Coronado,  and  Alarchon.  In  Hakluyt’s  Voyages, 
iii.,  p.  434,  etc. 


THE  A  U THORITIES. 


1 8 1 

Rusting,  James  F. — The  Great  West  and  the  Pa¬ 
cific  Coast.  New  York,  1877.  Sheldon  &  Co.  A 
part  of  this  is  on  Arizona  and  Southern  California. 

Ryan,  W.  R. — Personal  Adventures  in  Upper  and 
Lower  California.  2  vols.  London,  1850.  Wm. 
Shoberl. 

Schaeffer,  L.  M. — Sketches  of  Travel  in  South 
America,  Mexico,  and  California.  New  York,  i860. 
James  Egbert,  printer. 

Shepard,  A.  K. — Papers  on  Spanish  America. 
Albany,  1868.  Joel  Munsell. 

Simpson,  J.  H. — Coronado’s  March  in  search  of 
the  “  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola,”  and  a  Discussion  of 
their  probable  Location.  In  “  Smithsonian  Re¬ 
port,”  1869.  This  is  as  interesting  as  a  novel. 

Simpson,  J.  H. — Journal  of  a  Military  Recon- 
noisance  from  Santa  Fe  to  the  Navajo  Country. 
Philadelphia,  1852.  Lippincott  Grambo  &  Co.  Is 
finely  illustrated. 

Sitgreaves,  L . — Report  of  an  Expedition  down 
the  Zuni  and  Colorado  Rivers.  Washington,  1853. 
Profusely  illustrated.  Sen.  Exec.  Doc.  59 ;  2d  sess., 
32d  Cong. 

Spanish  Settlements  in  America,  An  account  of. 
Edinburgh,  1762. 

Squier,  E.  G. — New  Mexico  and  California.  The 
Ancient  Monuments,  etc.  In  “  American  Review,” 
November,  1848. 


182 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY, 


Taylor ,  Bayard, — Eldorado  ;  or  Adventures  in  the 
Path  of  Empire.  New  York,  1854.  G.  P.  Putnam. 

Wheeler ,  G.  AT.,  Lieutenant. — Reports  upon  the 
Geographical  and  Geological  Explorations  and  Sur¬ 
veys  West  of  the  100th  Meridian.  7  vols.  Wash¬ 
ington,  1875. 

These  explorations  are  under  the  control  of  the 
War  Department.  Only  volumes  three  and  five, 
and  part  of  volume  four  are  yet  published.  But  as 
the  other  volumes  will  soon  appear,  and  as  these 
Reports  are  among  the  most  interesting  and  valua¬ 
ble  of  the  “Authorities  ”  on  the  Southwest,  we  will 
place  all  of  the  volumes  in  this  list. 

Vol.  I.  will  contain  a  Geographical  Report. 

Vol.  II.  will  contain  a  Report  on  Astronomy 
and  Meteorology. 

Vol.  III.  contains  a  Report  on  Geology  and 
Mineralogy. 

Vol.  IV.  contains  a  Report  on  Paleontology. 

Vol.  V.  contains  a  Report  on  Zoology. 

Vol.  VI.  will  contain  a  report  on  Botany. 

Vol.  VII.  will  contain  a  Report  on  Ethnology, 
Philology,  and  Ruins. 

In  addition  to  the  Reports  a  valuable  collection 
of  large  photographs  of  scenery  and  ruins  in  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona  have  been  taken. 

Wise,  Lieutenant . — Los  Gringos  ;  or,  An  Inside 


THE  AUTHORITIES.  jgo 

View  of  Mexico  and  California,  etc.  New  York, 
1849.  Baker  &  Scribner. 

Wislizenus ,  A. — Memoir  of  a  Tour  to  Northern 
Mexico,  connected  with  Colonel  Doniphan’s  Ex¬ 
pedition.  Washington,  1848.  (Sen.  Doc.  No.  26; 
1st  sess.,  30th  Cong.)  This  report  contains  much 
information  about  New  Mexico. 

Wright,  John  A. — A  paper  on  the  Character  and 
Promise  of  the  Country  on  the  Southern  Border 
along  or  near  the  32d  Parallel.  Philadelphia,  1876. 
Review  Printing  House. 

RESUME. 

The  above  list  of  English  authorities  embraces 
one  hundred  and  six  on  Mexico,  eighty-three  on 
California,  forty-six  on  Texas,  sixteen  on  New 
Mexico,  eight  on  Arizona,  eight  on  Colorado,  two 
on  Nevada,  eight  on  Utah,  and  sixty-four  too  gen¬ 
eral  for  the  above  classifications,  making  a  total  of 
three  hundred  and  forty-one.  Yet  the  Southwest 
is  a  country  comparatively  new  to  Anglo-American 
civilization.  Why  then  so  many  works  in  English? 
It  is  because  the  subject  is  rich  in  attractive  mate¬ 
rial  for  the  historian.  Not  only  does  the  Aztec 
civilization  and  the  Spanish  conquest  furnish  a 
mint  of  remarkable  and  brilliant  events  and  facts, 
as  attractive  as  romance,  but  the  solid  basis  of 
wealth  furnishes  the  writer  on  material  subjects 
with  an  abundance  of  interesting  facts. 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


184 

It  will  be  noticed  that  a  large  portion  of  the  list 
on  Mexico,  particularly  the  works  on  the  resources, 
were  published  in  London.  It  is,  as  will  appear  in 
a  subsequent  chapter,  because  of  their  extensive 
commerce  with  Mexico,  and  large  investments  in 
mines,  that  the  English  people  have  so  carefully 
•examined  and  thoroughly  reviewed  the  wealth  of 
that  portion  of  the  Southwest. 

A  noticeable  feature  of  the  books  on  the  Aztec 
history  is  the  enthusiasm  of  the  writers,  which  the 
critic  is  sometimes  disposed  to  call  exaggeration. 
From  the  time  Cortez  sent  his  glowing  dispatches 
to  the  King  of  Spain,  and  Diaz,  the  historian  of  the 
achievements  of  Cortez’s  army,  described  the  splen¬ 
dors  and  luxuries  of  the  Aztec  capital,  to  the  time 
that  Prescott  wrote  his  fascinating  history  of  the 
Conquest,  the  same  spirit  of  enthusiasm  and  admi¬ 
ration  crops  out  in  the  writings  of  most  of  the  his¬ 
torians.  The  critics  who  doubt  the  truthfulness  of 
these  histories  cannot  do  better  than  consider  the 
facts  and  figures  in  regard  to  the  wealth  of  ancient 
Mexico,  or  visit  some  public  library,  which  is  so 
fortunate  as  to  possess  a  set  of  Lord  Kingsbo- 
rough’s  massive  volumes  or  the  antiquities,  and  see 
for  themselves  the  fac-similes  of  the  picture-writ¬ 
ings,  and  the  illustrations  of  the  ancient  temples 
and  other  ruins. 

But  quite  as  noticeable  is  the  enthusiastic  spirit 


THE  A  UTHORITIES. 


185 


of  admiration  which  appears  so  frequently  in  the 
books  of  modern  writers  who  are  dealing  with  the 
resources  of  New  Spain  instead  of  its  classic  his¬ 
tory.  The  leading  writers  on  the  resources,  those 
who  have  examined  New  Spain  carefully,  and  in  a 
business-like  manner,  seem  to  be  surprised  at  the 
result  of  their  investigation.  As  an  illustration  of 
this  tendency  on  the  part  of  prominent  writers, 
which  one  frequently  meets  with  in  the  examina¬ 
tion  of  the  various  authorities,  we  will  quote  the 
tributes  of  three  authors,  each  one  on  a  different 
portion  of  New  Spain,  viz. :  Mexico,  California, 
and  Texas.  Lempriere  in  his  “  Notes  on  Mexico/’ 
published  in  London,  in  1862,  says:  “The  merci¬ 
ful  hand  of  Providence  has  bestowed  on  the  Mexi¬ 
cans  a  magnificent  land  abounding  in  resources  of 
all  kinds — a  land  where  none  ought  to  be  poor,  and 
where  misery  ought  to  be  unknown — a  land  whose 
products  and  riches  of  every  kind  are  abundant, 
and  as  varied  as  they  are  rich.  It  is  a  country  en¬ 
dowed  to  profusion  with  every  gift  that  man  can 
desire  or  envy ;  all  the  metals  from  gold  to  lead  ; 
every  sort  of  climate  from  perpetual  snow  to  tropi¬ 
cal  heat,  and  inconceivable  fertility.” 

“  One  thing  alone  is  wanting,  that  is  a  govern¬ 
ment.”  * 


*  “Notes  on  Mexico,”  by  Lempriere.  See  introduction  to  his 


book. 


1 86  the  silver  country. 

Ernest  Seyd,  whose  reputation  for  ability  as  a 
writer  on  finance  gives  weight  to  his  opinions, 
made  a  careful  examination  of  the  resources  of 
California,  and  in  the  introduction  to  his  chapter 
on  its  agriculture,  said  :  “  We  will  begin  by  making 
the  following  assertion.  There  does  not  exist  under 
the  sun  a  country  so  wonder f idly  endozved  with  agri¬ 
cultural  advantages  as  California ,  not  a  country 
more  brilliant  in  its  climate,  nor  one  whose  soil  is 
more  productive .”  *  The  italics  are  his. 

Of  another  portion  of  New  Spain,  Horace  Greeley 
wrote  in  1872  ;  “  Texas  is  as  large  as  France,  with 
a  more  genial  climate  and  far  richer  soil.  She  has 
to-day  less  than  one  million  inhabitants,  while 
France  (as  reduced  by  the  late  war)  has  more  than 
thirty-six  millions.  She  has  more  and  better  tim¬ 
ber,  and  more  cattle  and  horses  than  France. 
Why  should  not  her  fortieth  part  of  France’s  pop¬ 
ulation  be  rapidly  increased  to  a  twentieth,  a  tenth, 
and  before  the  close  of  this  century  to  a  fifth  or 
fourth?  Why  should  not  this  State  be  the  home 
of  ten  millions  of  the  human  family  early  the  next 
century?  ”  f 

If  the  future  development  of  the  Southwest  is  in 
accordance  with  its  wealth,  and  possibilities,  and 
the  expectation  of  those  who  have  most  carefully 


*  “  California  and  its  Resources,”  London,  1858,  p.  114. 
f  Greeley’s  Letters  from  Texas,  p.  29-30. 


THE  A  U  THORITIES. 


1 8  7 


studied  its  past  record,  and  its  resources,  we  may 
expect  a  degree  of  civilization  and  luxury  which 
will  develop  sufficient  material  for  future  histories 
and  reviews  far  more  numerous  and  entertaining 
than  the  authorities  thus  far  written. 


1 83 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY, 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  FOREIGN  COMMERCE  OF  MEXICO. 


ITS  NATURAL  COURSE. 

No  intention  of  nature  is  more  clearly  indicated 
than  that  the  commercial  exchanges  between  Mex¬ 
ico  and  the  outside  world  should  be  chiefly  with  the 
United  States.  Baron  Humboldt  has  called  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  great  highway  extending  along  the 
table-lands  from  Northern  New  Mexico  to  South¬ 
ern  Old  Mexico,  as  one  of  the  wonders  of  nature. 
In  a  previous  chapter  we  have  reviewed  the  topo¬ 
graphical  features,  showing  how  the  general  course 
of  the  plateaus  is  northwardly  through  Mexico  into 
the  United  States,  and  how  the  peculiar  formation 
makes  an  almost  insurmountable  barrier  between 
the  coasts  and  great  interior  of  Mexico.  The  com¬ 
mercial  significance  of  this  natural  formation  was 
officially  and  very  clearly  shown  a  few  years  ago  in 
the  report  of  the  Mexican  Committee  on  Mining 
Taxes,  as  follows  :  “  The  central  table-land  of  our 
country  is  separated  from  either  sea-coast  by  rug- 


FOREIGN  COMMERCE  OF  MEXICO . 


189 


ged  mountains  and  deep  ravines  breaking  it  into 
longitudinal  zones  of  different  temperatures  and 
varied  productions;  but  this  fact  almost  cuts  off 
communication  between  these  zones  and  the  sea- 
coast  east  or  west.  While  such  natural  difficulties 
exist,  increased  by  territorial  extent,  manufactures 
and  agriculture  cannot  thrive,  because  the  cost  of 
transportation  is  so  great,  we  cannot  contend  with 
foreign  competition,  and  our  vegetable  products 
must  be  confined  to  home  consumption.”*  In  a 
history  of  the  Mexican  Railway,  published  at  Mex¬ 
ico  during  the  past  year,  we  find  still  further  testi¬ 
mony  in  regard  to  the  barriers  nature  has  placed  in 
the  way  of  commerce  between  the  coasts  and  table¬ 
lands,  viz.,  “  the  ascent  from  the  coast  to  the  cen¬ 
tral  table-lands  is  difficult.  Large  masses  of  rock 
require  to  be  perforated,  lofty  summits  have  to  be 
overcome,  behind  which  the  fertile  plains  and  val¬ 
leys  of  the  center  open  out  to  a  great  extent.”  f 

Comparatively  speaking  Mexico  is  without  a 
river-system,  hence  transportation  must  be  by  land 
instead  of  water.  The  table-lands,  running  north¬ 
wardly,  furnish  excellent  facilities,  and,  in  fact, 
almost  the  only  facilities  for  commercial  highways. 

Again,  nature’s  intention  in  regard  to  the  course 

*  See  Appendix  to  Blake’s  “Production  of  Precious  Metals,” 
p.  3l8- 

j*  History  of  Mexican  Railway  by  Baz  and  Gallo,  p.  13* 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


I90 

of  trade  appears  in  the  character  of  the  products. 
Mexico  produces  necessities  and  luxuries  which  the 
United  States  cannot  produce,  and  we  in  turn  pro¬ 
duce  much  that  Mexico  needs  and  does  not  produce 
or  manufacture. 

We  would  then  naturally  expect  an  extensive  in¬ 
tercourse  and  commerce  between  these  two  great 
and  adjoining  republics.  Are  the  intentions  of  na¬ 
ture  observed  in  this  respect? 

MEXICO’S  EXCHANGES  WITH  ALL  COUNTRIES. 

At  the  time  Baron  Humboldt  wrote,  the  port  of 
Vera  Cruz  was  the  only  one  frequented  for  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  foreign  trade,  hence  the  statistics  given 
may  be  said  to  represent  all  the  exports  and  im¬ 
ports.  For  the  year  1802  the  total  exports,  via 
Vera  Cruz,  were  $38,447,367  ;  and  the  total  im¬ 
ports,  $21,998,588.  Of  the  above  total  of  exports 
about  three-fourths,  or  $29,247,529,  was  silver  coined 
and  wrought. 

For  the  year  1803,  the  total  exports,  via  Vera 
Cruz,  were  $14,482,917;  and  the  total  imports, 
$19,866,717.  Of  the  exports  for  this  year,  silver 
constituted  considerably  over  half,  or  $9,190,676.* 

At  that  time  most  of  the  foreicm  exchanges  of 
Mexico  were  with  Europe,  and  Humboldt,  in  order 
to  give  a  fair  illustration,  or  average,  of  the  value 


*  See  Humboldt’s  “New  Spain,"  p.  37-39. 


FOREIGN  COMMERCE  OF  MEXICO. 


I9I 


to  Europe  of  Spanish-American  trade,  tells  how  he 
formed  his  estimates,  viz.  :  “To  know  as  nearly  as 
possible  the  value  of  the  importations  of  Spanish- 
America,  I  endeavored  to  inform  mvself  on  the 
spot  in  each  province  of  the  state  of  commerce  of 
the  principal  ports.  I  procured  information  rela¬ 
tive  to  the  goods  registered  and  those  which  were 
smuggled,  and  I  turned,  in  a  particular  manner,  my 
attention  to  those  years  when,  either  from  a  free 
trade  with  neutrals ,  or  from  the  sales  of  prizes,  a 
province  was  glutted  with  European  and  East  India 
commodities.”  *  From  the  statistics  which  he  gives 
on  this  subject  we  have  selected  those  which  relate 
to  Mexico.  It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  the 
statistics  of  Guatemala  are  combined  with  those  of 
Mexico,  but,  as  the  chief  part  belongs  to  Mexico, 
the  reader  can  form  a  pretty  correct  idea  of  the 
value  of  that  trade  between  Mexico  and  Europe  : 


Viceroyalty 


Guatemala. 


of  New 

Imports 

Exports. 

from  Europe  and 

Spain  and 

Asia,  including 

Agricultural 

Produce  of  SiU 

Capitania 

Contraband. 

Produce. 

ver  and  Gold. 

General  of 

$22,000,000 

$9,000,000 

$22,500,000 

Ward  gives  as  the  foreign  commerce  of  the  whole 
of  Mexico  for  the  period  of  twenty-five  years. 


*  Idem,  p.  126,  127. 


192 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


1796-1820,  the  exports  and  imports  of  the  port  of 
Vera  Cruz,  viz. :  * 

Exports.  Dollars. 

Precious  metals .  209,777,206 

American  produce .  69,757,017 

Total .  279,534,223 

Iviports.  Dollars. 

European  productions .  224,447,132 

American  productions .  34,658,808 

Total .  259,105,940 

He  gives  the  annual  average  of  that  period  as 
follows : 

Exports.  Dollars. 

Precious  metals .  8,391,088 

Other  produce .  2,790,280 

Total .  11,181,368 

Imports.  Dollars. 

European  manufactures 

and  produce .  8, 977, 885 

American  produce .  1,386,352 

Total .  10,364,237 


*  Ward’s  Mexico,  i.  413-417. 


FOREIGN  COMMERCE  OF  MEXICO. 


193 


It  will  be  observed  that  this  annual  average  for 
the  whole  period  is  much  less  than  that  at  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  the  present  century  as  given  by 
Humboldt.  The  decrease  was  caused  by  political 
troubles  in  Mexico  arising  from  the  attempt  at  in¬ 
dependence  in  1810,  which  continued  until  the  in¬ 
dependence  was  established  in  1821.  In  the  same 
manner,  and  for  the  same  reason,  did  the  products 
of  silver  and  gold  decrease  after  1810,  as  we  have 
shown  in  a  previous  chapter. 

The  foreign  commerce  of  Mexico  had,  prior  to 
the  war  with  the  United  States,  which  commenced 
in  1846,  recovered  from  the  depressing  effects  of  her 
revolutionary  struggle.  To  illustrate  the  extent  of 
her  foreign  trade  at  that  period,  Mayer,  in  his  his¬ 
tory  of  Mexico,  took  the  year  1844  as  a  fair  illus¬ 
tration.  He  gives  the  statistics  as  follows  :  * 

Total  exports .  $11,032,835 

Total  imports .  21,139,234 

Of  the  total  exports,  nearly  all,  or  $10,932,416, 
was  precious  metals,  and  precious  metals  in  Mexico 
may  be  called  silver. 

A  few  years  after  the  war  with  the  United  States, 
the  foreign  commerce  of  Mexico  had  increased  sev¬ 
eral  millions  in  value.  According  to  the  “  States- 


9 


*  Mayer’s  History  of  Mexico,  ii.  99-100. 


194 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


man’s  Year  Book,”  the  trade  of  1856  was  as  fol 


lows : 

Total  exports .  . 

Total  imports . 

And  for  the  ten  years  1859-1868,  the  same  au¬ 
thority  gives  the  annual  average  of  total  exports 
and  imports  as  follows,  viz. : 


Exports . 

Imports . 

The  above  totals  are  inclusive  of  precious  metals 
as  well  as  products  and  manufactures. 

The  total  exports  and  imports  of  the  year  1870 
were  as  follows  : 


Exports . 

. ..  $24,135,000 

Imports . 

. . .  23,478,000 

and  of  the  exports  of  that  year,  $17,210,000  was 
silver. 

We  have  been  unable  to  find  the  statistics  of  the 
total  foreign  trade  of  Mexico  for  every  year,  so  in¬ 
stead  of  giving  a  complete  table  of  statistics,  we 
can  only  take  certain  years  or  periods.  To  illus¬ 
trate  the  amount  and  nature  of  that  trade  at  the 
present  time,  we  will  take  the  statistics  for  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1873,  as  given  in  the  annual  report 


FOREIGN  COMMERCE  OF  MEXICO. 


l9S 


of  the  State  Department  on  the  Commercial  Rela¬ 
tions.  That  authority  gives  the  totals  as  follows  :  * 

Exports . $33,168,609 

Imports .  29,062,406 

and  of  that  total  of  exports,  over  three-fourths,  or 
$25>373»673>  was  precious  and  other  metals,  of 
which  it  is  safe  to  say  nearly  all  was  silver.  Over 
one-third,  or  $10,531,970,  of  the  imports  of  that 
year  was  “  cotton  stuffs,”  and  it  is  safe  to  say  al¬ 
most  all  of  that  item  of  imports  was  from  distant 
Europe,  instead  of  the  great  cotton-producing 
State  of  Texas  just  across  the  boundary  line.  To 
show  what  markets  Mexico  patronizes,  we  take 
from  the  same  authority  the  following  table  of  im¬ 
ports  and  exports  by  countries  for  the  same  year 
ending  June  30,  1873  :  f 


Countries. 

Imports. 

Exports. 

Miscellaneous . 

•  •  • 

•  $i,47V,458  57 

Italy . 

$9,035  22... 

17,389  00 

Great  Britain . 

10,180,589  37.  . . 

•  12,479,547  57 

United  States . 

7,420,419  43  -  •• 

.  11,366,530  76 

France . 

4,817,110  63. . . 

.  4,604,417  38 

New  Granada  (via  Panama). . . . 

1,233,429  53... 

U579,oi5  12 

Spain  and  Cuba . 

1,394,211  53-  •  • 

752,891  91 

Germany . 

3,890,496  17... 

802,643  83 

Central  America  (Guatemala, 

and  Honduras) . 

105,479  32.  •  • 

80,999  52 

*  See  Commercial  Relations  for  1875,  p. 

1129. 

f  Idem,  p.  1129. 


196 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


Ecuador .  $10430  39 -  $2,931  75 

China . . .  825  25. . . . 

Belgium .  3^o  10. . . .  4)7^4  °o 


Total .  $29,062406  94  $33,168,609  41 


It  will  be  observed,  from  this  statement,  that 
Mexico  purchases  chiefly  in  the  European  market. 
Omitting  the  imports  from  Spain,  because  the  sta¬ 
tistics  are  combined  with  those  of  Cuba,  the  total 
purchases  from  Europe  amount  to  $18,897,61 1,  as 
against  $7,420,419  from  the  United  States. 

On  the  Pacific  coast  of  Mexico,  the  European 
monopoly  is  still  more  noticeable.  Of  the  foreign 
commerce  of  that  coast,  the  United  States  consul 
at  Guaymas  reported  to  the  State  Department  in 
1873  :  “  It  is  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
Germans,  Spanish,  and  English.  In  this  port  lead¬ 
ing  merchants  are  Mexicans  and  Spanish.  No 
American  importing  house  on  the  West  coast,  and 
only  one  commission  house  of  any  importance 
which  is  in  Guaymas.”  * 

MEXICO’S  EXCHANGES  WITH  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  annual  reports  of  the  United  States  on  com¬ 
merce  and  navigation  commence  with  the  year  end¬ 
ing  September  30,  1821,  the  same  year  that  Mexico 


*  Commercial  Relations  for  1873,  p.  825. 


FOREIGN  COMMERCE  OF  MEXICO . 


19  7 


became  an  independent  republic.  But  in  the  sta¬ 
tistical  view  of  the  commerce  of  that  year,  Mexico 
is  not  mentioned,  nor  is  the  trade  with  Mexico 
given  separately  until  the  year  ending  September 
30,  1825.  Taking  the  statistics  for  1825  and  1830, 
and  every  tenth  year  thereafter,  as  given  in  those 
official  reports,  we  have  the  following  view  of  the 
exchanges  between  the  two  republics.  The  statis¬ 
tics  are  inclusive  of  specie  and  bullion  as  well  as 
produce  and  manufactures  : 


Total  Exports  to 

Total  Imports 

Year  Ending 

Mexico. 

from  Mexico . 

Sept.  30, 

1825  .  . 

..  $6,470,144 

$4,044,647 

u 

I83O. . 

..  4,837,458 

5,235,241 

a 

I 84O . . 

•  •  2,515,341 

4,175,001 

June  30, 

1850. . 

..  2,012,827 

2435,3 66 

U 

I 860 . . 

•  •  5,354,073 

6,935,872 

U 

1870  * 

•  •  5,875,396 

1 3,099,03 1 

The  statistics  given  by  the  Bureau  of  Statistics 
are  for  the  past  three  years,  as  follows :  f 

Total  Exports  to  Total  Imports 
Year  Ending  Mexico.  from  Mexico. 

June  30,  1874....  $6,004,370  $13,239,905 
“  1875....  5.770,783  11,634,983 

“  1876 _  6,208,172  12,505,753 

*  The  statistics  of  this  year  are  from  “  Quarterly  Report  of  Bureau 
of  Statistics,”  No.  1,  p.  93. 
f  Idem,  p.  93. 


igS  THE  silver  country. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  United  States  ex¬ 
ports  less  to  Mexico  at  the  present  time  than  she 
did  fifty-one  years  ago,  when  Mexico  had  just  com¬ 
menced  as  an  independent  republic.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  imports  from  Mexico  are  three  times  as 
large  as  in  1825. 

As  Mexico  and  the  United  States  are  adjoining 
American  republics,  the  natural  inference  to  be  de¬ 
rived  from  the  above  statistics  is  that  we  do  not 
produce  nor  manufacture  what  Mexico  needs;  and 
that  Mexico  cannot  supply  products  in  demand 
here.  But  the  facts  prove  that  inference  is  incor¬ 
rectly  drawn.  What,  then,  a^e  the  facts  ? 

Of  the  $10,531,970  worth  of  cotton  stuffs  pur¬ 
chased  by  Mexico  during  the  year,  from  June  30, 
1872,  to  June  30,  1873,  the  United  States  supplied 
from  her  own  products  and  manufacture  only  the 
following  insignificant  amount  in  value,  viz. :  * 


Unmanufactured  cotton .  $74,352 

Manufactured  cotton  (colored).. .  66,185 

“  “  (uncolored).  155,657 

All  other  cotton  stuffs .  73,244 


Total  value .  $369,438 


Yet  the  United  States  can  successfully  and  pro- 


*  See  Annual  Report  on  Commerce  and  Navigation  by  Bureau  of 
Statistics. 


FOREIGN  COMMERCE  OF  MEXICO . 


I99 

fitably  compete  with  every  nation  on  earth  in  both 
the  production  and  manufacture  of  cotton. 

Not  only  were  cotton  stuffs  the  chief  item  of 
Mexico’s  purchases  for  the  above-mentioned  year, 
but  they  have  constituted  the  chief  item  of  her  im¬ 
ports  every  other  year  of  the  present  generation. 
It  follows,  then,  that  there  is  some  other  than 
a  natural  barrier  to  our  supplying  her  chief  de¬ 
mand. 

Quicksilver  is  another  item  of  Mexico’s  imports, 
her  purchases  of  that  commodity,  in  1873,  being  in 
value  $2,184,014.*  Yet  but  a  small  portion  of  it 
was  purchased  from  the  United  States,  notwith¬ 
standing  the  fact  that  the  part  of  this  country 
where  it  is  produced  in  great  profusion  is  the  por¬ 
tion  nearest  to  Mexico. 

We  have  already  observed  that  coffee  and  sugar 
are  products  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  soil  and 
climate  of  Mexico.  Our  demand  for  those  products 
is  so  great  that  the  United  States  imports  each 
year  over  fifty  million  dollars’  worth  of  coffee ;  and 
during  the  last  three  years  the  annual  average  value 
of  our  imports  of  sugar  and  molasses  has  been  up¬ 
ward  of  eighty-one  million  dollars. f  Yet  Mexico 
supplies  but  a  small  fraction  of  this  demand. 

As  we  stated  in  the  outset,  this  is  a  book  of  facts 


*  See  Paper  on  Mexico  in  Annual  Cyclopaedia  for  1876. 
f  See  Quarterly  Report,  No.  1,  of  Bureau  of  Statistics,  p.  97. 


200 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


not  theoiies  so  we  will  not  discuss  principles  of 
political  economy.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is 
safe  to  assert  that  whatever  theory  of  political 
economy  is  responsible  for  the  above  showing, 
needs  to  be  remodeled. 


AD  VANCE  OF  RAIL  WA  YS. 


201 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  ADVANCE  OF  RAILWAYS. 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  NATIONAL  HIGHWAYS. 

In  the  palmy  days  of  the  Roman  Empire,  good 
public  highways  were  considered  indispensable  to 
the  welfare  of  the  State.  Gibbon,  in  describing  its 
magnificent  system  of  military  roads,  says  :  “  No 
country  was  considered  subdued  till  it  had  been 
rendered  pervious  to  the  arms  and  authority  of  the 
conqueror.”  *  The  victories  of  peace,  as  well  as 
war,  require  the  same  aids  for  their  advancement. 
At  the  present  stage  of  civilization,  the  nation 
which  neglects  to  supply  its  territory  with  suitable 
roads  will  be  slow  in  its  material  development,  and 
will  fall  behind  in  the  race  for  commercial  suprem¬ 
acy.  New  Spain  is  no  exception  to  this  fundamen¬ 
tal  rule.  Nor  is  the  United  States  an  exception  in 
competition  with  other  nations  for  the  trade  of 
Mexico.  Even  the  early  native  races  of  New 
Spain,  and  other  parts  of  Spanish  America,  recog- 


*  Gibbon’s  Rome,  i.  63. 


202 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


nized  this  fundamental  principle  and  acted  upon  it. 
Long  before  the  Spanish  had  discovered  Peru,  the 
native  races  had  completed  a  costly  system  of  in¬ 
ternal  improvements  by  building  highways  for  their 
armies  and  commerce.  Bancroft  says :  “  Among 
the  most  remarkable  Peruvian  remains  are  the 
paved  roads  which  cross  the  country  in  every  direc¬ 
tion  especially  from  north  to  south.  Two  of  the 
grandest  highways  extended  from  the  region  north 
of  Quito,  southwest  to  Cuzco,  and,  according  to 
some  authors,  still  farther  to  Chili.  One  runs  over 
the  mountains,  the  other  chiefly  through  the  plains. 
Their  length  is  at  least  twelve  hundred  miles,  and 
the  gradingof  the  mountain-roads  presented,  as  Mr. 
Baldwin  believes,  far  greater  difficulties  than  the 
Pacific  Railroad.  These  roads  are  from  eighteen  to 
twenty-six  feet  wide,  protected  at  the  sides  by  a 
thick  wall,  and  paved  generally  with  stone-blocks, 
but  sometimes  with  a  mixture  of  cement  and  fine 
stone,  an  aboriginal  Infringement  on  the  Macadam 
process.  The  highways  followed  a  straight  course 
and  turned  aside  for  no  obstacle.  Ravines  and 
marshes  were  filled  up  with  masonry,  and  the  solid 
rock  of  the  mountains  was  cut  away  for  many 
miles.”  * 

The  same  historian  of  the  native  races  says  of  a 

*  Bancroft’s  “Native  Races,”  iv.  794-5. 


ADVANCE  OF  RAILWA  YS. 


203 


road  in  Yucatan,  one  of  the  Southern  States  of 
New  Spain,  “  M.  Charnay  found  a  magnificent  road 
from  seven  to  eight  metres  wide,  whose  foundation 
is  of  immense  stones  surmounted  by  a  concrete, 
perfectly  preserved,  which  is  covered  with  a  coat¬ 
ing  of  cement  two  inches  thick.  This  road  is  every¬ 
where  about  a  metre  and  a  half  above  the  surface 
of  the  ground.”  * 

These  accounts,  from  ancient  history,  of  costly 
highways,  are  a  better  indication  of  a  high  degree 
of  civilization  and  prosperity  of  the  classic  nations 
than  are  the  stories  of  their  ancient  temples  and 
ruins.  They  show  that  the  Romans,  the  Incas 
of  Peru,  and  the  Aztecs  of  Mexico  had  already 
adopted  theories  of  government,  had  advanced  be¬ 
yond  the  recluse  state,  to  intercourse  among  them¬ 
selves  and  neighboring  nations,  to  a  desire  for  civil¬ 
ization  and  commerce. 

The  far-seeing  father  of  the  Republic  of  the 
United  States  did  not  overlook  the  importance  of 
national  highways.  After  he  had  exchanged  the 
duties  of  the  soldier  for  those  of  the  statesman,  he 
became  an  earnest  advocate  of  a  system  of  internal 
improvements  to  connect  the  Atlantic  States  with 
the  Mississippi  Valley.  His  letters  in  1784,  and 
1785,  to  the  President  of  Congress,  and  to  the  Gov- 


*  Idem,  p.  266-267. 


204 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


ernor  of  Virginia,  show  that  he  considered  it  impor¬ 
tant  for  political,  as  well  as  ccmmercial  reasons, 
that  the  waters  of  the  Potomac  or  James  River 
should  be  connected  with  those  of  the  Ohio  by 
means  of  a  canal.  That  in  this  way  would  the  set¬ 
tlers  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  be  bound  to  the  At¬ 
lantic  States  by  ties  of  interest,  and  the  danger  of 
their  uniting  their  fortunes  with  the  foreign  nations 
in  the  rear  be  thereby  averted.'* 

But  the  civilization  of  the  present  day  demands 
a  particular  class  of  highways.  Civilization,  and 
railways,  and  commerce,  go  hand  in  hand,  and  each 
helps  the  other.  The  advance  of  the  material 
development  of  any  country  intersected  by  rail¬ 
ways  is  as  much  faster  than  formerly,  as  is  the 
speed  of  the  locomotive  greater  than  the  old-fash¬ 
ioned  stage  coach.  The  recent  official  report  on 
the  internal  commerce  of  the  United  States  says 
that,  “  during  the  year  1876,  eighty-three  per  cent, 
of  all  the  grain  receipts  of  the  Atlantic  seaports 
was  by  rail,  and  it  is  estimated  that  over  ninety  per 
cent,  of  all  the  commerce  between  the  West  and 
the  seaboard  is  now  carried  on  over  the  great  trunk 
railroads.”  f  So  important  is  this  particular  class 
of  highways,  in  the  exchanges  of  the  present  day, 

*  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  ix.  58-119. 

f  First  Annual  Report  on  the  Internal  Commerce  of  the  United 
States,  by  Joseph  Nimmo,  Washington,  1877,  p*  8. 


AD  VANCE  OF  RAIL  IV A  VS. 


205 

that  over  three-fourths  of  the  commerce  of  St. 
Louis,  the  central  city  of  the  finest  river  system  of 
the  whole  world,  was,  during  the  year  1875,  carried 
by  rail ;  or  to  be  exact,  seventy-eight  per  cent,  was 
by  rail,  and  twenty-two  per  cent,  by  river.*  It 
seems  odd,  in  this  material  age,  to  be  talking  of  the 
importance  of  railways  ;  but  it  also  appears  strange 
that  the  great  Southwest,  the  richest  portion  of  the 
earth  in  precious  metals,  and  the  oldest  part  of 
America  in  European  civilization,  is  comparatively 
a  stranger  to  railways,  and  is  permitting  its  riches 
to  remain  undeveloped.  What  are  the  facts  and 
figures  ? 


THE  ADVANCE  OF  RAILWAYS  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES  AND  THE  SOUTHWEST. 

The  second  half  of  the  first  century  of  the  re¬ 
public  witnessed  the  commencement  of  the  first 
railway  in  this  country.  It  was  in  New  England 
instead  of  New  Spain,  and  near  Boston.  But  it  was 
simply  a  freight  line,  of  a  few  miles,  to  bring  to 
market  the  products  of  a  stone  quarry.f  The  first 
railway  proper,  as  described  by  Poor,  was  com¬ 
menced  “  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1828,  the  first  act 


*  Idem,  p.  107. 

f  Manual  of  Railways  of  the  United  States,  1876-77,  by  H.  V. 
Poor,  p.  v. 


20  6 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


being  performed  by  the  venerable  Charles  Carroll 
of  Carrollton,  the  only  surviving  signer  of  the  De¬ 
claration  of  Independence.  At  the  close  of  the 
ceremony  of  breaking  ground,  Mr.  Carroll  said,  “  I 
consider  this  among  the  most  important  acts  of  my 
life,  second  only  to  that  of  signing  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  if  even  second  to  that.”  *  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  present  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  road.  Ever  since  then  railways  have  been 
gradually  advancing  westward  ;  in  the  meanwhile 
they  have  been  intersecting  every  portion  of  the 
Eastern  States.  Not  until  the  third  quarter  of  the 
first  century  did  they  cross  the  Mississippi  River; 
and  not  until  1850  did  they  enter  the  limits  of  New 
Spain.  A  glance  at  the  map  in  the  forepart  of  this 
volume,  shows  that  they  have  not  yet  crossed  the 
great  interior  of  New  Spain,  but  end  abruptly  near 
the  borders,  as  if  afraid  to  trespass  upon  a  country 
so  rich  in  treasures. 

The  following  table  shows  the  mileage  of  railways 
of  the  United  States,  New  Spain,  and  the  Mexican 
half  of  New  Spain  at  the  close  of  periods  of  five 
years  beginning  with  1830,  and  ending  with  the 
close  of  1875,  or  the  close  of  the  first  century. f 


*  Idem,  p.  v. 

f  Nearly  all  of  the  following  statistics  are  compiled  from  Poor’s 
“Railway  Manual,”  for  1876-77  and  1877-78. 


AD  VANCE  OF  RAIL  IVA  VS. 


20  7 


United  States. 

New  Spam. 

Mexico. 

1830. . 

41 

O 

O 

1835. 

1,098 

O 

0 

1840. , 

2,8l8 

0 

O 

1845. 

4.633 

O 

O 

1850. 

9,021 

7 

7 

1855. 

18,374 

58 

10 

i860. 

30,635 

350 

20 

1865 . 

•  35,085 

767 

88 

1870. 

.  52,906 

2,992 

217 

1875. 

•  74.658 

5,069 

327 

The  next  table  shows  the  mileage  of  railways  of 

the  various  portions  of  New  Sp 

ain  at  the  end  of 

periods  of  five  years 

each  commencing  with  1850, 

and  ending  with  the  close  of  1875. 

Year.  Mexico. 

Cali¬ 

fornia. 

Re- 

Texas.  Utah.  vada. 

S.&IV.  New 
Colo -  Mex- 
rado.  ico. 

Corner 

of 

Ari-  Wyo- 
zona.  ming. 

1850...  7 

O 

O 

0  0 

O  0 

O  O 

1855...  10 

8 

40 

0  0 

0  0 

O  O 

i860...  20 

23 

307 

0  0 

0  0 

O  O 

1865...  88 

214 

465 

0  0 

0  0 

O  O 

1870. . .217 

925 

711 

257  593 

0  0 

O  289 

1875. ..327 

1,503 

1,685 

5i5  650 

100  0 

O  289 

From  the  above  tables  it  appears  that  the  United 
States  had  9,021  miles  of  railway  when  New  Spain 
had  but  7  miles  ;  that  the  portion  of  the  United 
States  which  was  acquired  from  Mexico  had  but 
48  miles,  when  the  rest  of  the  United  States  had 


208 


THE  SIEVE R  COUNTRY. 


18,326  miles;  that,  with  the  exception  of  767  miles, 
all  the  railways  of  the  Southwest  were  built  during 
the  last  ten  years  of  the  first  century  of  the  re¬ 
public  ;  that  at  the  present  time  there  is  not  a  single 
mile  of  railway  in  any  of  those  rich  border  States — 
New  Mexico ,  Arizona ,  Chihuahua,  Sonora,  and  Du¬ 
rango  ;  that  there  is  not  a  single  mile  of  railway  con- 
necting  the  two  great  wealthy  and  neighboring  re¬ 
publics,  the  one  composed  of  thirty-eight  States, 
nine  Territories,  and  a  federal  District,  the  other 
composed  of  twenty-seven  States,  one  Territory, 
and  a  federal  District. 

THE  ADVANCE  OF  RAILWAYS  IN  THE  SOUTHWEST 

COMPARED  WITH  THAT  OF  OTHER  COUNTRIES 

AND  THE  WORLD. 

We  have  on  a  previous  page  claimed  that  the 
United  States  has  at  her  own  door  a  more  mag¬ 
nificent  land  than  India,  awaiting  an  adequate  de¬ 
velopment  of  its  riches.  It  may  be  interesting,  for 
purposes  of  comparison,  to  see  what  steps  the  Eng¬ 
lish  people  have  taken  to  develop  the  resources  of 
their  distant  possession.  When  Lord  Dalhousie 
was  Governor-General  of  India  he  planned  a  system 
of  railways  which  have  been  constructed  to  the  ex¬ 
tent  of  7,152  miles.*  Lines  of  road  start  from  the 

*  “  History  of  India,”  by  L.  J.  Trotter,  p.  348,  and  Poor’s  “  Rail¬ 
way  Manual  ”  for  1877-78,  p.  xlix. 


ADVANCE  OF  RAIL  IV A  YS. 


209 


two  great  harbors  of  India,  one  on  the  east  and  the 
other  on  the  west  coast,  and  extend  into,  diverge, 
and  intersect  the  great  interior,  forming  a  net¬ 
work  of  railways  which  makes  possible  a  suitable  de¬ 
velopment  of  that  rich  country.  The  Statesman’s 
Year  Book,  for  1877,  says:  “The  internal  com¬ 
merce  of  India  has  been  vastly  developed  of  late 
years  by  the  construction  of  several  great  lines  of 
railways  made  under  the  guarantee  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment.  In  the  year  1845  two  great  private  associa¬ 
tions  were  formed  for  the  purpose  of  constructing 
lines  of  railroad  in  India  ;  but  the  projectors  found 
it  impossible  to  raise  the  necessary  funds  for  their 
proposed  schemes  without  the  assistance  of  the 
State.  It  was  therefore  determined  by  the  Indian 
Government  to  guarantee  to  the  railway  companies, 
for  a  term  of  99  years,  a  rate  of  interest  of  5  per 
cent,  upon  the  capital  subscribed  for  their  under¬ 
takings.”  * 

But  the  English  people  were  not  content  with 
the  development  of  their  own  India.  Their  enter¬ 
prise  seeks  also  the  riches  of  Mexico,  and  English 
capitalists  have  completed,  and  are  the  chief  owners 
of  the  railway  from  Vera  Cruz,  the  most  important 
harbor  of  the  republic,  to  the  highly  elevated  Capi¬ 
tal.  As  this  line  constitutes  nearly  all  of  the  rail¬ 
way  mileage  of  Mexico,  Englishmen  may  be  said  to 


*  “  Statesman’s  Year  Book  ”  for  1877,  p.  696. 


2  10 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


monopolize  the  most  important  of  the  internal  im¬ 
provements  of  that  rich  land.  Their  commercial 
policy  is  more  noticeable  when  we  consider  that 
they  came  to  a  distant  American  republic  to  con¬ 
struct  a  commercial  highway  which,  on  account  of 
the  topographical  obstacles,  is  one  of  the  most  re¬ 
markable  achievements  of  railway  engineering.  A 
recent  work  on  Mexico,  published  in  London,  says: 
“  The  line  may  be  divided  into  three  sections  ;  the 
first  from  Mexico  over  the  plateau  of  Tierra  Fria 

4. 

to  Boca  del  Monte,  a  distance  of  156  miles;  thence 
down  the  steep  descent  of  the  Cumbres  to  Paso  del 
Macho ,  60  miles  ;  and  finally  thence  along  the  gently 
sloping  Tierra  Caliente  to  Vera  Cruz,  47  miles.”  Of 
the  middle  section  of  the  line  the  author  says  :  “  In 
a  distance  of  25  miles,  the  road  descends  almost 
4,000  feet,  where  curves  of  300  feet  radius,  and  gra¬ 
dients  of  three  or  four  per  cent.,  often  over  loose 
and  yielding  ground,  follow  one  another  in  quick 
succession.”  * 

Comparing  different  portions  of  Spanish  Amer¬ 
ica,  we  find  that  Pizzaro’s  Peru  has  nearly  three 
times  as  much  railway  mileage  as  Cortez’s  Mexico. 

At  the  commencement  of  1877,  Peru  had  1,238 
miles  already  built.  At  the  present  time  there  is 
in  process  of  construction  a  line  which  had  been 


*  “  Peep  at  Mexico  ”  by  J.  L.  Geiger,  pp.  326  and  327. 


AD  VANCE  OF  RAIL  WA  VS. 


211 


appropriately  termed  “  a  railway  in  the  clouds,”  * 
extending  from  the  Pacific  Ocean,  across  the  Andes, 
at  a  height  above  the  sea  of  15,645  feet,  to  the 
waters  of  the  Amazon  River  on  the  east.  The  line 
is  to  be  continued  eastward  until  it  unlocks  the 
treasures  of  the  Cerro  de  Pasco  silver  mines. 

The  Argentine  Republic,  another  portion  of 
Spanish  America,  and,  as  usual  with  Spanish  Amer¬ 
ican  countries,  rich  in  silver,  has  now  1,466  miles  of 
railway.  That  Government,  in  1863,  guaranteed  to 
Mr.  Wheelwright,  a  native  of  New  England,  the 
interest  on  a  certain  sum  per  mile  to  enable  him  to 
build  the  Grand  Central  Argentine  Railway.  At 
the  inauguration  of  the  work,  the  President  of  the 
republic  said:  “Every  one  must  rejoice  on  the 
opening  of  this  great  road,  for  it  will  tend  to  people 
solitudes,  to  give  riches  where  there  is  poverty,  and 
to  institute  order  where  anarchy  reigns.”  f 

These  facts  indicate  that  the  Spanish  nations  of 
South  America  are  entering  upon  a  new  era  of  de¬ 
velopment,  and  that  Mexico,  which  is  larger  and 
richer  than  any  of  her  Spanish  sisters,  is  falling  be¬ 
hind  in  the  race. 

The  following  table  shows  how  the  railways  of 
New  Spain  and  the  Mexican  portion  of  it  compare 


*  See  “  Scribner’s  Monthly  ”  for  August,  1877. 
f  “  Life  of  William  Wheelwright”  by  Alberdi,  p.  146. 


212 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


with  those  of  the  United  States  and  the  whole 


world  in  1877 : 

Mileage. 

The  whole  world .  194,836 

The  United  States .  77,470 

New  Spain .  6,110 

Mexico .  378 


Yet  half  of  New  Spain  is  within  the  progressive 
United  States,  and  the  other  half  is  next-door  neigh¬ 
bor  ! 

Why  this  indifference  to  the  demands  of  civiliza¬ 
tion,  neglect  of  internal  improvements,  and  disre¬ 
gard  of  commerce?  Why  has  the  country,  which 
produces  75  per  cent,  of  the  silver  of  the  world,  but 
3lVo  per  cent,  of  the  railway  mileage  of  the  world? 
Is  nature  the  cause  of  this  singular  condition  of 
affairs,  and  has  she  placed  barriers  to  the  advance 
of  railways  through  the  Southwest  ? 

FACILITIES  FOR  BUILDING  RAILWAYS  IN  THE 

SOUTHWEST. 

Whatever  barriers  nature  has  placed  in  the  way 
of  progress,  in  New  Spain,  are  between  the  coast 
and  interior  of  Mexico,  and  not  along  the  great 
table-lands,  for  they  make  the  construction  of  pub¬ 
lic  highways  north  and  south,  through  the  great 
interior  of  New  Spain,  comparatively  easy.  We 


AD  VANCE  OF  RAIL  WA  VS. 


213 


have  already  noticed  on  previous  pages  how  dif¬ 
ficult  was  the  building  of  the  Vera  Cruz  Railway  ? 
and  that  the  highly  elevated  table-lands,  which  de¬ 
cline  abruptly  on  the  east  and  west,  toward  the 
coast  of  Mexico,  present,  most  everywhere,  similar 
obstacles  to  the  advance  of  railways  from  the 
oceans;  that  the  Mexicans  themselves,  in  an  official 
report,  have  recognized  and  regretted  the  obstacles 
to  communication  between  the  coast  and  the  in¬ 
terior  ;  how  the  great  interior  of  New  Spain  is  un¬ 
like  the  great  interior  of  the  United  States  without 
a  river  system,  and  therefore  all  the  more  depen¬ 
dent  upon  railways  for  its  material  development  and 
commerce  ;  also  how  the  elevated  table-lands  which 
extend  from  Mexico  into  the  United  States  grad¬ 
ually  slope  toward  the  border  line,  there  find  their 
lowest  elevation,  and  then  ascend  in  the  shape  of  an 
inclined  plain  northwardly  through  New  Mexico.'" 
Of  the  facilities  for  commercial  highways  furnished 
by  the  table-lands,  Humboldt  says  :  “  Carriages  may 
run  from  Mexico  to  Santa  Fe  in  an  extent  which 
exceeds  the  length  which  the  chain  of  the  Alps 
would  have,  if  it  was  prolonged  without  interrup¬ 
tion,  from  Geneva  to  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea. 
In  fact,  the  central  table-land  is  traveled  in  four- 
wheeled  carriages  in  all  directions  from  the  Capital 


*  Ante,  pp.  210,  21-25,  and  1S8. 


214 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


to  Guanaxuato,  Durango,  Chihuahua,  Valladolid, 
Guadalaxara,  and  Perote.”'‘? 

In  his  “  Views  of  Nature,”  in  describing  this 
natural  highway  along  the  flattened  crest  of  the 
mountains  between  Santa  Fe  and  the  City  of  Mex¬ 
ico,  he  gives  a  table  of  elevations  along  the  line. 
The  two  extremities,  Mexico  and  Santa  Fe,  are  re¬ 
spectively  7,469  and  7,047  feet  above  the  sea ;  but 
the  elevation  at  El  Paso,  near  the  border  line,  is 
only  3,810  feet,  f  This  depression  in  the  table¬ 
lands  extends  through  their  whole  width,  from  east 
to  west,  making  through  the  center  of  New  Spain, 
and  at  320  north  latitude,  near  the  border  between 
Mexico  and  the  United  States,  another  invitation 
from  nature  for  the  advance  of  railways.;); 

This  idea  would  appear  more  clearly  on  the  ac¬ 
companying  map  if  we  had  given  the  elevations  ac¬ 
cording  to  every  thousand  feet ;  but  having  no  data 
to  illustrate,  in  this  manner,  the  topography  of 
Mexico,  it  was  necessary  to  give  the  corresponding 
elevations  for  the  United  States. 

Emory’s  official  report  on  the  Mexican  Boundary 
Survey  describes  the  peculiar  formation  very  clearly 
as  follows :  “  This  plateau  attains  its  greatest  ele¬ 
vation  in  Mexico,  where  it  is  ten  thousand  feet 

1 

*  Humboldt’s  “  New  Spain,”  iv.,-pp.  2  and  3. 

f  “  Views  of  Nature,”  p.  208. 

%  Pacific  Railway  Reports,  i.,  pp.  4  and  5. 


AD  VANCE  OF  RAIL  WA  VS. 


215 


above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Its  lowest  depression 
is  along  the  line  of  the  boundary,  about  the  paral¬ 
lel  of  320  north  latitude,  where  it  is  about  four 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  Thence  it  ascends 
again,  and  preserves  an  elevation  varying  from 
seven  to  eight  thousand  feet  to  near  the  49th  paral¬ 
lel.” 

Again,  after  mentioning  some  features  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  he  says:  “  That  range, 
as  well  as  the  Sierra  Madre  and  the  Rocky  Moun¬ 
tains,  about  the  parallel  of  320,  lose  their  con¬ 
tinuous  character,  and  assume  the  forms  that  are 
graphically  described  in  the  western  country  as  lost 
mountains — that  is  to  say,  mountains  which  have 
no  apparent  connection  with  each  other.  They 
preserve,  however,  their  general  direction,  N.  W. 
and  S.  E.,  showing  that  the  upheaving  power 
which  produced  them  was  the  same,  but  in  a  di¬ 
minished  and  irregular  force.  They  rise  abruptly 
from  the  plateau,  and  disappear  as  suddenly  ;  and 
by  winding  around  the  bases  of  these  mountains  it 
is  possible  to  pass  through  the  mountain  system,  in 
this  region,  near  the  parallel  of  320,  almost  on  a 
level  of  the  plateau,  so  that  if  the  sea  were  to  rise 
4,000  feet  above  its  present  level  the  navigator 
could  cross  the  continent  near  the  32d  parallel  of 
latitude.  He  would  be  on  soundings  of  uniform 
depth  from  the  Gulf  of  California  to  the  Pecos 


21 6 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


lvlver‘  *  •  •  noticed  this  remarkable  de- 
pression  in  the  continent  in  an  exploration  made 
by  me  in  1846,  and  called  to  it  the  attention  of 
Mr.  Buchanan,  then  Secretary  of  State  ;  and  it  was 
upon  this  information  that  he  instructed  our  min¬ 
ister,  then  negotiating  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hi¬ 
dalgo,  not  to  take  a  line  north  of  the  32d  parallel 
of  latitude  in  the  boundary  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico.”* 

Nature  has  not  only  done  her  part  to  facilitate 
the  material  development  of  the  Southwest  by 
making  easy  the  construction  of  commercial  high¬ 
ways  through  its  center,  from  north  to  south,  and 
cast  to  west,  but  she  has  indicated  her  intentions 
in  such  unmistakable  terms  that  it  is  a  discredit  to 
American  enterprise  that  those  channels  of  trade 
are  not  already  open  and  the  products  and  manu¬ 
factures  of  the  two  republics  finding  a  continuous 
interchange. 

She  has  stored  such  vast  quantites  of  silver  and 
gold  beneath  the  surface  of  the  great  Southwest 
that  it  must  be  artificial,  and  temporary,  instead  of 
natural  barriers,  that  have  kept  railways  from  ad¬ 
vancing  to  tap  its  wealth. 


*  Report  on  Mexican  Boundary,  by  W.  H.  Emory,  i ,  pp  4Q 
and  41.  1  H 


ADVANCE  OF  RAIL  WA  VS. 


21 7 


REASONS  WHY  RAILWAYS  HAVE  NOT  CROSSED 

THE  SOUTHWEST. 

The  temporary  blockade  of  the  development  of 
New  Spain  was  caused,  first,  by  the  lethargic  civil¬ 
ization  which  has  possessed  that  country  since  the 
days  of  the  Conquest.  It  was  the  Northeast,  or  New 
England,  which  received  the  progressive  civiliza¬ 
tion  that  has  made  such  thorough  work  of  develop¬ 
ing  whatever  resources  nature  placed  in  their  way. 
Gold  was  what  the  Spanish  conquerors  sought  in 
New  Spain,  but  during  a  supremacy  of  three  hun¬ 
dred  years  they  unlocked  but  a  small  portion  of  the 
treasures  of  the  mines.  And  since  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  Mexican  supremacy  in  1821,  less  attention 
has  been  given  to  internal  improvements,  and  less 
thorough  has  been  the  development  of  the  re¬ 
sources. 

Another  temporary  barrier  to  progress  in  the 
Southwest  since  railways  advanced  across  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi  River,  was  the  existence  of  slavery.  The 
dread  on  the  part  of  the  North  of  adding  strength 
to  that  institution  placed  a  blockade  upon  internal 
improvements  so  far  south.  Fortunately  the  first 
century  of  the  republic  witnessed  the  removal  of 
unnatural  obstacles  to  progress  in  the  richest  por¬ 
tion  of  the  continent. 

10 


21 8 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY . 


A  LOOK  AHEAD. 

The  railway  builders,  or  the  Anglo-Americans, 
have  gradually  extended  their  thrifty  civilization 
westward,  and  are  now  cencentrating  their  energies 
near  the  borders  of  New  Spain,  preparatory  to  in¬ 
tersecting  that  magnificent  land  with  suitable  high¬ 
ways,  and  making  thorough  work  of  its  develop¬ 
ment.  A  glance  at  the  map  shows  how,  from  the 
north,  from  the  eastern  portion  of  Texas,  and  from 
the  Pacific  coast,  railways  have  been  commenced, 
and  are  advancing  toward  the  interior  and  the 
great  mining  region.  Herein  lies  the  adequate 
development  and  prosperity  of  Mexico,  and  the 
rest  of  New  Spain.  If  the  Southwest,  during  the 
three  hundred  and  fifty-five  years  since  the  con¬ 
quest  by  Cortez,  has  been  able,  without  rail¬ 
ways  and  with  no  thrifty  civilization,  to  make 
such  a  wonderful  record  in  the  products  of  silver 
and  gold,  what  may  we  not  expect  when  railways 
intersect  its  territory,  and  open  up  its  latent  riches  ? 

The  experience  of  California  and  Nevada  during 
the  past  few  years,  with  some  of  the  modern  aids  to 
advancement,  is  an  indication  of  the  brilliant  devel¬ 
opment  we  may  expect  in  the  Southwest  as  a  whole. 

And  with  railways  will  advance  the  commercial 
supremacy  of  the  United  States. 


CON  CL  USION. 


219 


CONCLUSION. 

The  study  of  the  Southwest  is  a  series  of  sur¬ 
prises,  whether  investigating  its  yield  of  silver  and 
gold,  the  variety  of  its  other  resources,  its  topo¬ 
graphy  and  wonderful  scenery,  its  luxuries,  or  the 
wealth  of  its  written  history.  But  still  greater  is 
the  surprise  that  under  a  European  civilization,  for 
three  hundred  and  fifty-five  years,  its  resources  are 
comparatively  undeveloped,  its  highways  unbuilt, 
and,  as  a  whole,  its  political  power  insignificant. 

We  have  seen,  in  comparing  its  precious  metals 
with  those  of  the  world  for  the  same  periods,  that 
the  Southwest,  from  1521  to  1876, produced  over  one- 
third  of  the  combined  products  of  silver  and  gold  of 
the  whole  world ;  that  its  silver  product  was ,  from 
1521  to  1804,  a  trifle  less  than  half  of  that  of  the 
world ;  from  1804  to  1848,  over  half  of  that  of  the 
world ;  from  1848  to  1868,  half  of  that  of  the 
world ;  from  [868  to  1876,  but  a  trifle  less  than  two- 
thirds  of  that  of  the  world ;  and  for  1875,  the  last 
year  of  the  whole  period ,  three-fourths  of  that  of  the 
world. 

Yet  its  modern  development  has  scarcely  com¬ 
menced. 

The  first  century  of  the  republic  of  the  United 


220 


THE  SILVER  COUNTRY. 


States  was  largely  spent  in  the  formation  of  a  gov¬ 
ernment,  the  settlement  of  political  principles,  the 
conflict  over  slavery,  the  civil  war,  reconstruction, 
and  finally  reconciliation.  Happily  those  ques¬ 
tions  are  disposed  of,  and  the  arts  of  peace,  internal 
improvements,  the  developments  of  the  resources, 
the  revival  of  industries  are  the  beginning  of  a  new 
era  and  a  new  policy.  Under  this  policy  the  South¬ 
west,  because  of  its  great  natural  wealth,  becomes 
conspicuous  as  the  favorite  field  for  operations. 
And  why  should  it  not  be  the  favorite  field  when  it 
has  already  produced  in  silver  and  gold  $4,887,512,- 
605,  or  more  than  double  the  amount  of  the  national 
debt  at  the  close  of  1876;  and  more  than  the  total 
sum  invested  in  all  of  the  railways  of  the  United 
States,  which  was  estimated  to  be  at  the  berrinnin°' 
of  last  year  $4,600,000,000.*  Yet  the  Southwest  is 
itself  comparatively  a  stranger  to  railways. 

The  Monroe  doctrine,  which  was  opposed  to  the 
introduction  upon  this  continent  of  the  European 
system,  or  forms  of  government,  has  become  a  well- 
settled  policy,  and  was  re-affirmed  at  the  time 
Maximilian  was  in  power  in  Mexico,  and  resulted 
in  the  withdrawal  of  the  French  troops  and  his  subse¬ 
quent  downfall.  But,  in  marked  contrast  to  this  es¬ 
tablished  principle,  the  business  community  of  the 


*  Poor’s  Manual  of  Railways  for  1S76-7,  p.  xiii. 


CONCLUSION. 


22 1 


United  States  have  ever  been  content  to  see  Eng¬ 
land,  and  France,  and  other  commercial  nations  of 
Europe,  monopolize  the  foreign  trade  of  Mexico. 
Nature  intended  that  trade  for  this  country,  and  a 
suitable  effort  to  obtain  it  must  be  crowned  with 
success.  Already  has  the  tide  of  American  enter¬ 
prise  turned  in  that  direction. 

The  Southwest  is  the  richest  part  of  the  earth’s 
surface  in  precious  metals,  the  only  part  of  North 
America  in  native  civilization,  the  oldest  part  of 
America  in  European  civilization,  such  as  it  was, 
yet  the  last  of  all  to  receive  a  progressive  civiliza¬ 
tion.  Its  new  era  of  development  has  opened  at  a 
time  when  modern  agencies  of  civilization  and  ad¬ 
vancement,  such  as  the  railway,  the  telegraph,  the 
most  improved  mining  machinery  and  agricultural 
implements,  have  nearly  reached  a  stage  of  perfec¬ 
tion.  And  with  such  aids  this  rich  land  is  destined  to 
show  a  record  of  material  development,  and  wealth, 
unparalleled  by  any  history  yet  written. 


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